I Would Say Yes, One Thousand Times
by Part.TimeLord-Part.Human
Summary: Jeff's been bottling up his feelings for Nick for a long time now. But will he have the courage to tell him before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: _I Would Say Yes, One Thousand Times._

**Pairing**: _Nick/Jeff_

**A/N:** _Hi there! It was so hard to resist the awesomeness that is Neff, so I had to write something. Hopefully it won't be too bad; I don't know when the next chapter will be up. Maybe in a week after my exams, or maybe sooner 'cause I procrastinate a lot :P_

**Disclaimer**: _Never have, never will and never going to own Glee. Though it'd be pretty damn awesome if I did._

* * *

><p>Nick trudged up the stairs towards his and Jeff's dormitory. ''Stupid Wes!'' he huffed. ''Making us practise the same damn song for two whole hours! Believe it or not, some of us do have lives.'' He muttered dryly.<p>

He barged straight into his room without knocking and slammed the door shut as hard as he could, almost making Jeff fall off his bed.

''SHIT! DUUUDE! Are you _trying_ to break our door down!''

Nick just ignored him; his mind was focused on something far more important. He made a beeline straight for his bed, making no attempt to remove his shoes or shrug off his blazer, and practically lunged towards it, face first.

Jeff looked worried, what was wrong with Nick? He slowly got off his own bed, walked towards his best friend and knelt down next to side of the bed. ''Hey'' he whispered, ''are you okay?'' He could hear Nick groaning and mumbling something.

"MmmmMMmm... Guhhh eweeey!"

''Yeeeah, dude, I didn't catch a _word_ you just said. Maybe it would help if you moved your mouth from your pillow...y'know.'' He shrugged. ''Just a suggestion.''

Nick smiled and tilted his head to the side, ''Well, how about you shove your suggestions. Up. Your. Ass.''

He lifted his face off the pillow, turned to look at Jeff and gave him the largest fake grin he could muster up before plopping his head back down again.

Jeff chuckled and shook his head slightly. His knees were slowly starting to cramp so he got up and sat on the edge of the bed, shifting Nick's legs to make room. Though _someone_ was clearly not happy with his actions as he heard Nick moan, _yet_ again.

''Ok dude, quit your whining and tell me what's got you so worked up or shall I just assume it's that time of the month again'' he smirked.

''Errghhhh!'' He groaned, before slowly pushing himself up and sitting straight.

'' Ok first of all Jeffa cakes...'' Jeff narrowed his eyes at the nickname and internally groaned. ''...HA-HA, your jokes are lame. And secondly, I'M not the one who's on their damn period, Wes is!'' Nick scrunched up his face in anger, furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists. _Boy was he upset._

Jeff smirked to himself as he knew that face very well, and it usually meant be prepared because Nick is going to have a full-on ranting session that won't finish anytime soon. So Jeff proceeded to make himself comfortable; he crossed his legs, elbows leaning on his knees and his hands holding his head up. _Ok, now he was prepared._

''...I mean, I was running on three hours of sleep throughout the whole day because of my stupid Psychology exam, had nothing to eat the day before. So naturally, when the bell went for end of classes I literally ran to our room for some much-needed sleep. But nooo... I just _have _to get a text from Wes".

_**Wes**__: EMERGENCY WARBLER PRACTICE – 15.00. MANDATORY!_

''Man I'm so going to kill that dude! I mean how many times does one need to sing MJ'S 'Bad', he's totally killed that song. _And_ my feetare aching!''

Jeff was listening intently on what the boy had to say. He watched Nick run his hands through his hair and felt sympathy for him. He was the only Warbler with exams left, and Wes had increased practise time because of regionals. All this pressure must be exhausting for him. Suddenly, he noticed that Nick had stopped talking; he looked up at and watched his best friend bow his head down in defeat. Jeff moved to sit beside him and put an arm around his shoulder.

''Hey, don't worry too much about it. If there's _anyone_ I know that can get through this, it's you. You have one more exam left, and then it will all be over.'' He smiled. '' There's not much you can do about Wes to be honest, when it's competition time, he goes nuts!'' He heard a small chuckle escape from Nick. ''But, if you do need help or anything, you know I'm here for you. Okay?''

Nick looked up at him and smiled gratefully, ''Okay.'' He whispered, before closing his eyes and leaning his head on Jeff's shoulder.

The blonde Warbler watched his best friend closely and smiled fondly. _Nick looks extremely adorable when he's asleep_, he thought to himself. Suddenly, Jeff realised how creepy and Twilight-esque it was to be watching Nick sleep. So he slowly lay his head on Nick's and closed his eyes; allowing his thoughts to take over his mind.

To anyone else, Nick was a fellow Warbler, his roommate and his best friend since kindergarten. But he knew better, he's the guy who he first came out to when he was 14, the one who had comforted him when he was too scared to tell his parents, the one who fought for him and took a punch for him when the bullying got tough. He's the one who has always been there, the one who makes everything so worthwhile. And though Nick would never find out, but he's the one who Jeff has been in love with for the past two years.

He could never tell Nick the truth though, he would never do anything to jeopardise their friendship. Just the mere thought of never talking to him again, hearing his goofy laugh and seeing his gorgeous smile kills him inside.

Jeff slowly moved Nick off of him, lay him down on the bed and began to remove Nick's blazer, tie and shoes; placing them neatly on a chair. The air felt slightly chilly, so Jeff picked up the cream blanket that was shoved to the side and covered him up with it. Jeff smiled at his best friend lovingly. He gently shook away the tears that were now forming in his eyes, slowly leaned forward and kissed his best friends forehead. And it was at that moment he had realised, though he secretly yearns for more, if being friends is all Nick wants, then that's enough for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: _Hello again! I just want to thank all those who reviewed and story-alerted, it really means a lot that people actually like this story, so thank you again! So here's the newest chapter, sorry in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Erm, I'll probably update the next chapter within the next couple of days, my last exam is on Wednesday so probably after then whoop whoop! Okay, I'm going to shut up now and let you get back to the story._

**Disclaimer**_: Never have, never will and never going to own Glee; though it would be pretty damn awesome if I did._

"...Okay, so if I add these two together then I should finally get nine poin- wait, what? No, n-nooooo. How can I keep getting this wrong?" He sighed.

He looked back at the paper and scrunched his face, as if he was trying to decode an alien language. "Fine, what about if I added this and thi-..." He whispered to himself before tapping furiously into his calculator.

Jeff squinted, as his eyes slowly readjusted to the light at the same time, trying to locate where that incessant tapping noise was coming from. He then noticed that it was Nick brutally attacking his calculator.

"Mmmm, easy nicky, what did the calculator do to you?" He chuckled lightly, voice still deeply hoarse from sleep.

"It's not giving me the right answer, that's what!"

Jeff took his phone out from under his pillow - expecting it to be nearly time for breakfast. He struggled putting his password in as only one eye was open; the other was much more rebellious and refused. Once his phone was unlocked, his home screen automatically popped up which was a picture of him and Nick, his hand unconsciously reached for the silver pendant hanging from his neck and smiled fondly as his mind drifted back to that day.

_That particular day found Jeff lying on his bed, sulking. He and Nick tried auditioning today for a solo again; this would have been his sixth attempt and Nick's third. However, when he found out that Blaine got the solo instead, he was extremely upset and it kinda put a damper on his day._

_Nick turned his head to the side and studied Jeff's face - the frown lines, the furrowed eyebrows and his sullen mood. He could see how worked up his best friend was about it and no matter how much he tried to comfort him, it still proved ineffective. Nick paused for a second, looked thoughtful and then hurried out their room; just as he was leaving he shouted out to Jeff that he'll be back. Jeff didn't think much of it; in fact he was so engrossed with his own issues that he didn't even notice Nick come in two hours later. It was only when he felt a dip on his bed and a hand on his knee, was he brought out of his daze. _

_"Hey, how are you feeling?" Nick whispered._

"_Better, I guess." He shrugged. "Sorry for being so dramatic, I guess its just one of those days."_

_"Don't apologise dummy, you have every right to be upset. But..." Nick grinned. "...that's where the amazing Nick BAD-ASS Duval comes i-"_

_"Dude?" Jeff interrupted. "Your middle name is Milgram." He said with a smirk._

_"Bro!'' Nick said, putting his hand in front on Jeff's face. ''Never interrupt the Nick-ster when he's in full flow, okay?" _

_Jeff sniggered and put up his hands up in mock surrender. "Oh, I'm sorry, Your Highness."_

_Nick nodded. "Good." He then looked deep in thought. "Now what was I saying?"_

_"Something along the lines of you being a bad-ass...?"_

_"Oh yeah! So... because I'm such an amazing friend, I got you something. Well, technically I got us something. I had to buy me something too, cos I felt kinda left out."_

_Jeff grinned at him and laughed, "You're such a goof ball you know that?" _

_Nick poked him in the stomach. "Yay! You're smiling again."_

_Jeff just simply giggled at his best friend. "Shut up." He said whilst smiling. "Okay, so what's this present you got me?"_

_"Oooh, okay, you have to close your eyes okay and promise not to open them until I say so, deal?"_

_"Deal." He agreed._

_Jeff closed his eyes and felt Nick shuffle beside him, a moment later he felt something cold being put around his neck. _

_"Okay, you can open them." He smiled. _

_Jeff opened his eyes, looked down and saw a shiny metal pendant hanging from his neck. He slowly lifted it up and saw that it had an engraving on it. He tilted it so he could read it and saw the word **S I X** written in the centre, next to it was a small heart shape. He looked up at Nick with awe. He saw Nick smiling and pull out the same pendant from under his t-shirt, it was the exact same but instead it had the word **T H R E E** written on it instead. _

"_Just because we auditioned numerous times, doesn't make us terrible singers." He began. "I love it when you sing Jeff, your voice is remarkable and even if you never got the solo, you're always welcome to sing for me." He took Jeff's hand and gave it a squeeze. _

_"You've been my best friend since forever. You're the six to my three Jeffy...'' he giggled. ''...and I wouldn't have it any other way. And plus, now we've got two super-duper cool codenames to use and no one would know what on earth we're talking about." He grinned widely._

_Jeff pursed his lips and raised his eyebrow. _

_"Well...when you put it like that..." He smiled._

_Nick's eyes lit up and smiled. "Come here, you fool" he said with his arms wide open._

_Jeff giggled and made his way towards his best friend; he hugged him back and melted in the embrace. "Thank you Nicky." He whispered. "It really means a lot; I'm never going to take this off."_

_Nick just held him tighter. He then leaned back and ruffled Jeff's hair before taking out his phone and motioned Jeff to come closer._

_"Say cheddar dude!"_

_Nick took a picture of them both lifting up their pendants towards the camera and smiling like madmen. It was moments like this that it really hit Jeff how much Nick actually cared about him. I mean, you always get people saying they care and what-not, but it's all words. But it's not like that with Nick, Jeff then made a mental note that no matter happens, he would do anything for his best friend. _

Jeff smiled fondly at the memory, his eye then caught the corner of his phone and he froze.

"Nick." Jeff called out slowly, with confusion written all over his face. "I think my phone is playing tricks on me."

"Yeah? Why's that?" he replied half-heartedly, as he was still trying to figure out the answer to the question he's been working on for the past fifteen minutes.

"Cos it says its 3.17 AM..."

"Umm..." Now Nick was the one with a confused face. He took his face away from the textbook and gave Jeff a puzzled look. "That's cos it is!" He chucked lightly.

"..."

A look of pure horror made its way onto Jeff's face. "...Dude. You're absolutely shitting me."

"I shit you not bro!" Nick giggled.

"Oh my God, NICK!" He screeched. "It's three in the morning! Three! Why am I awake? Why are _you_ awake?"

Nick laughed and threw the nearest cushion at him. "Shut up fool, it's not by choice. I did sleep pretty early yesterday; I guess my sleep just sorta...ran out?" He shrugged.

"R-ran out?" He repeated slowly. "Dude! Sleep has no limit." He shook his head with disbelief and sighed. "You're mad you know that! Bloody mad!"

"Yep, and you still love me." Nick giggled and grinned widely.

_You have no idea_, he thought to himself.

"So..." Jeff asked. "Care to explain why I woke up to you torturing your calculator? What you stuck on?"

"Well... '' Nick began. ''Cos I couldn't sleep, I thought I might aswell revise for my Chemistry exam seeing as it's in a couple of days. So I started with some buffer questions and I was doing well but then I got to this question and I just can't seem to figure out where I'm going wrong." He huffed.

"Here let me see." Jeff moved to get up from his bed before Nick stopped him.

"No, don't be silly. Its three in the morning, go back to bed otherwise you're gonna be all grouchy and moody in class."

"Look its fine, honestly. I'm already up anyway".

Nick looked down and felt guilty; he was afterall the reason why Jeff woke up. "I'm sorry." He said sheepishly.

Jeff just waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it, now scooch over." He pointed towards the chair Nick was sitting on. Nick shuffled down in his seat to make room for Jeff to sit down as well.

"Okay, so let's look at this..." Jeff began. He then read the question before reading Nick's working out and nodded to himself understanding where he went wrong.

"Ahh, because you used this formula, you've just forgotten to convert Ka to PKa. Don't worry." He reassured him. "It's just a simple mistake, other than that, everything else was right."

Nick sighed deeply. "You're so lucky that you did this a year early."

"Hmm, not really dude. I suffered just as much as anyone else. Only earlier." He chuckled.

Nick giggled. He then smiled up at Jeff gratefully "Thanks Jeff."

Jeff just shook his head and returned the smile. "Don't mention it."

"...And I'm sorry again for waking you up."

Jeff put his hand on his knee and looked him straight in the eye. "Honestly its fine. Plus, seeing as you always wake up before me..." He pointed towards Nick's hair. "I'm not gonna miss the rare opportunity to see your bed hair." He grinned.

Nick looked horrified. "Duuude!" His hand automatically reaching up to cover his hair.

Jeff just laughed and tried to move Nick's hand. "Ah come on, don't. You look adorable."

He just carried on laughing unbeknownst to him that Nick was frozen in his spot, his mind replaying what Jeff had just said. Jeff's laughter slowly faded out as he noticed Nick's silence.

"What?" He asked.

"Y-you think I'm adorable?" Nick asked shyly.

_Oh shit, did I say that out loud?_ Jeff bit his lip, hesitating a moment before looking up at Nick.

"Erm... I-I uhh..." Jeff replied, stumbling over his words.

He then looked into Nick's eyes that were sporting a sort of hopeful look. This was enough to give Jeff some courage to tell the truth.

"Y-yeah... I do." He looked down, his face all red and flustered.

Nick had a small smile playing on his lips; Jeff noticed this, smiled and shook his head.

"Shut up. I can practically see your head getting bigger."

Nick giggled softly and looked up at Jeff to meet his eyes. "Thank you." Now it was Nick's turn to blush. "For the 'adorable' comment, I mean. Not the one about my head getting big." He added.

Jeff just smiled and met his gaze. They were both staring intently at each other for what felt like eternity. Jeff could have sworn he saw Nick's eyes drifting towards his lips, he then saw Nick leaning forward slightly. _What was Nick doing?_ he thought to himself. He then slowly felt himself matching Nick's actions , before realising what was happening and stopped himself.

Jeff just looked at the ground; he couldn't face looking at Nick. "You should probably be getting back to your work." He whispered.

Nick was just confused. What had just happened? _Was I just about to kiss my best friend?_

"Erm, y-yeah..." He hesitated. "I should. Yeah."

Jeff just nodded slowly. "I'm gonna just go-" He motioned towards his bed. He then got up and walked towards his bed, and went under the covers. His mind couldn't help but drift back to before. _Why did Nick lean forward? Did he want to kiss me?_ Jeff thought to himself. _No, he was probably just confused, it's really late. Yep, that was probably it_, he tried to convince himself. Jeff realised that there was no point dwelling on it; he shouldn't get his hopes up as it was probably nothing. He nodded to himself, closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Nick was just staring into space trying to make sense about what had just happened earlier. _Why did he lean in? I mean, he can't like Jeff, not like that. But the way he was looking at me and his eyes. Oh gosh his eyes, I was just so lost in those gorgeous hazel eyes of his._ Nick could feel this fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Nick just frowned; _it doesn't_ _even matter anyway whether or not I like Jeff, he doesn't like me back._

"You know what, why am I getting so worked up over this?" He whispered to himself. "It was nothing. An accident. I was just tired and stressed, and I don't know what I was thinking." He nodded. _Yep, that most definitely must be it._

He then paused to look at Jeff who was fast asleep.

"Me?" He asked. "Fancying Jeff!" He chuckled to himself. "...that's just absurd." He then just shook his head and went back to his work. ''So...'' He began. ''4.92 of ethanoic acid...''

_**Thank you for taking time out to read my story please let me know what you think!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next couple of days, the awkwardness between the two boys had faded away and everything appeared to be going back to normal. The almost-kiss was long forgotten and they were back to their ridiculous old selves again.

Jeff had a Biology lesson first thing in the morning and he hated it. Firstly because it was just so damn boring and secondly, Nick didn't take this class with him, he took Advanced Maths instead. This was the only time throughout the whole week where he and Nick didn't have the same lesson and it was proving to be most difficult, in fact Jeff wasn't even listening to a word Miss Rattigan was talking about. He just sat there doodling in his notebook, before getting out his phone and texting his best friend.

**Jeff:**

_Duuuuuuuddde! I'm so boooooredddd. Help? – 6_

A minute later, Jeff felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He glanced up at the teacher to see if she was looking, when he saw that the coast was clear he unlocked his mobile and saw a text from Nick; as he was reading it, a small smile was forming on his face.

**Nick:**

_Loool, well maybe if you listened in class you wouldn't be – 3_

He looked up at the teacher again just to be on the safe side, before sending a reply back.

**Jeff:**

_Listen? I tried listening dude, but all she keeps talking about is 'my osis', I mean what the hell is that? She really needs to take a trip down to the English department dude. - 6_

**Nick:**

_Haha, its Meiosis you fool! And no way dude, you're not more bored than I am! This stuff isn't even English, it's all symbols!-3_

**Jeff:**

_Symbols? Lol what if it's secretly an alien language, eh? Bet you didn't think of that. - 6_

**Nick:**

_Hmm, you could have a point there Jeffrey. No wonder it's so hard. - 3_

**Jeff:**

_Urgh, don't call me that! And yep, they're getting you ready for when aliens come and take over. Those who take advanced Maths are going to be the first ones they take. Gonna miss you man :( - 6_

**Nick:**

_Oh shut up! If I have to go I'm taking you with me :D - 3_

**Jeff:**

_Ah, but I think you're forgetting one vital thing. I don't do advanced Maths, so I wouldn't know the language, hah! - 6_

**Nick:**

_Fine! But you're the one that's going to miss out. The mother ship will have such awesome gadgets such as anti-gravity shoes and teleportation devices *sticks tongue out* - 3_

**Jeff:**

_*sigh* fine, you win! I'll bring the red bull. - 6_

**Nick:**

_For what? - 3_

**Jeff:**

_Duh? For the all-nighter. You're going to teach me all there is to know about Math :D those anti-gravity shoes are as good as mine! - 6_

**Nick:**

_Haha awesome! But if I have to teach you then I'm going to have to know it myself, I guess that means I'm gonna have to focus now. Peace dude x - 3_

**Jeff:**

_Cool see you in 30 x - 6_

Nick couldn't keep a smile of his face; he just chuckled to himself and shook his head. Jeff never seemed to fail to make him laugh. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his teacher coming towards his direction, so he quickly put his phone back in his pocket and began to finish answering the questions that were on the board.

When the bell went for the end of class, Jeff couldn't get out of there faster enough. _God I thought that lesson would never end_, he thought. He then began to make his way to Nick's classroom, as he turned the corner he already saw the brunette Warbler standing outside the room obviously waiting for him. Nick was just staring out of the window, glancing at his watch every so often. Just as he was about to get his phone out to text Jeff, he thought he heard the sound of footsteps so he turned around, and saw his best friend walking towards him.

"Please, by all means move at a glacial pace." Nick teased.

When Jeff heard this, he smirked, slowed down his pace and began walking in slow motion in an attempt to annoy Nick. Obviously it had worked as he saw Nick charging towards him; he grabbed his hand and led him out of the corridor with Jeff just waddling behind him.

"Dude you're gonna break my arm." Jeff whined.

Nick just scoffed. "Man, that's nothing compared to what Wes will do to us with that gavel of his if we're late. So come on." He said, tugging Jeff's hand with more force.

A minute later, they reached the Warblers choir room and realised that they were the last ones there. ''Ahhh, Sterling, Duval, nice of you to finally grace us with your presence.'' Wes said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sorry" They both replied sheepishly. David just nodded and waved his hand dismissively "Its fine." he replied. "Just take a seat guys."

They were both about to go and find somewhere to sit before Trent spoke up. "Something you guys want to tell us?" He asked. Nick and Jeff both looked at each other confused.

Trent just smirked and nodded towards the space between them. They both followed where his eyes were looking and- _Oh_.

Nick's eyes widened as he realised what Trent was referring to. He was still holding Jeff's hand. Feeling embarrassed, he tried to pull away but Jeff was faster and kept a strong hold on his hand before speaking up.

"Nope, nothing to tell. Can I not hold my best friends hand?" He asked incredulously.

Nick could see from the corner of his eye that all the Warblers were staring, he scratched the back of his neck and looked down; his cheeks were now sporting a light shade of red.

"What? No-noo, of course you can!" Trent spluttered. "I never meant tha-"

Suddenly Trent was interrupted by the sound of Wes banging his gavel. "I _will_ have silence." He ordered. All the sounds of murmurs and whispers went to a halt. Wes nodded appreciatively."Thank you." He said. Now turning his head towards Jeff and Nick; he raised an eyebrow and looked at them as if they said the most stupid thing ever.

As soon as they saw the expression on Wes's face, they both muttered a feeble apology and rushed to sit next to the vacant space near Blaine. Once Jeff saw that Wes was busy talking again, he leaned to the side and whispered in Nick's ear. "Wow. Wes can be such a douche."

"I'm telling you dude, it's the power of the gavel." Nick replied.

Jeff narrowed his eyes at Wes and that gavel of his, his eyebrows furrowed. "We need to get him back."

Nick looked thoughtful for a moment before his face lightened up. "Oooh! I know, his birthday's coming up."

Jeff grinned. "Nice one. Okay, we'll get him back then." Jeff then turned to look Nick in the eye, grinning mischievously. "Warbler Wes isn't going to know what hit him."

Leaning back on the couch, Jeff sighed and closed his eyes trying to plot different ways in which he could get rid of Wes's gavel and make it look like an accident. However, his daydream was abruptly interrupted when he felt Nick slowly pull his hand away from his. Jeff opened his eyes and frowned. _Why is he pulling away? Doesn't he want to hold my hand anymore?_ Just as Jeff was about to pull his hand back too, he slowly felt slender fingers easing their way through his own. Jeff couldn't help the smile that was now forming on his face as he watched Nick intertwine their fingers. He looked up at said boy and saw a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks and noticed him smiling. Jeff just held onto Nick's hand a little tighter, making Nick smile even more_. Okay, what am I doing? _Nick thought_. I am holding Jeff's hand. Jeff and I are holding hands. He's my best friend! This should feel weird. Why doesn't it feel weird? Why does it feel s-sorta...good? _Nick sighed and just shook his head slightly, pushing all those thoughts from his mind; he could deal with them another time. For now, Nick just continued smiling and decided it'd be wise to focus on what Wes was talking about.

"...okay so before we conclude this session, I have some great news." Wes told the other fellow Warblers. "We have a new member joining us today, his name is Tyler Richards. Unfortunately, you won't be able to see him just yet as he's still getting settled in; however, he'll be here during lunch time, so please make him feel welcome. That's all guys." Wes said, ending the session with the bang of his gavel as usual. He then tucked the gavel inside his blazer pocket before walking off with David and Thad towards the canteen.

As Nick and Jeff were walking towards the cafeteria too, they noticed their joint hands for a second time, but this time they both decided it'd be best if they let go of one another as they were about to enter a lunch room full of students who would jump to conclusions. Nick looked up at Jeff and gave him a knowing look; Jeff smiled sadly before slowly pulling his hand away. They then both carried on walking into the canteen, this time however, suspiciously close to one another.

As Nick finished getting his food, he looked around to see where all the warblers were sitting, before noticing a familiar set of bright, blonde hair. He then walked towards the table and sat next to Jeff, sitting slightly closer to him than usual. This newfound proximity between them didn't go unnoticed by Jeff; he just smiled to himself before gently bumping Nick's shoulder with his own. Nick looked up at him "What...?" he asked. Jeff just shook his head, "Nothing." he replied, with a small smile playing on his lips. Nick just chuckled lightly at his best friends antics; he then nudged his knee against Jeff's. A small giggle escaped Jeff's mouth, he then slowly turned his head to look at his best friend and smiled, as he saw Nick smiling too; they were both were staring at each other, as if everyone else in the room had vanished. _He's gorgeous_, Nick thought.

In the background, he thought he heard Wes's voice; he was probably saying something important but Nick was too absorbed in Jeff's eyes to bother looking up to listen. _How have I never realised how beautiful Jeff is? His adorable smile, those gorgeous eyes and those lips. Damn! _He groaned internally. _What is this boy doing to me?_ Suddenly, Jeff broke eye contact with him and looked down at his hands in his lap, Nick frowned. He saw Jeff looking downwards, so Nick followed suit. He watched Jeff move his hand towards his, and allowed him to lace their fingers together. Nick closed his eyes and smiled, as he felt this strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. _This feels good. _He thought. _This feels really good._

They were so engrossed in each other that they failed to notice someone sliding into the seat in front of them. The person coughed quite loudly, breaking Nick out of his reverie. Just as he was about to shout at the person who interrupted him, he saw that it was someone unfamiliar.

"W-who are you?" Nick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

The boy just grinned and took his hand out. "I'm Tyler."

Nick eyed Tyler's hand. _He wants me to shake it_. Nick groaned internally, his right hand was pretty much occupied and he really didn't want to let go of Jeff, so instead he got out his left one and shook hands with the newcomer, despite looking really ridiculous.

"Um, hi. I'm Nick" Nick then let go of Tyler's hand and pointed towards Jeff, "and this fool over here is Jeff." He said smirking.

"Hey! Take that back!" Jeff scowled.

Nick just grinned. "Hmm... Make me."

"Ohhh, you _really_ want to go there?" Jeff retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Nick pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at Jeff.

"Fine" He huffed.

"Good boy." Jeff teased, before gently pinching Nick's cheeks.

"Ugh, get off!" He groaned and rolled his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips however.

Tyler frowned as he watched the two shamelessly flirt. "You guys make a cute couple." Tyler said dryly.

They both looked up and felt embarrassed as they had forgotten that Tyler was still there. However, all of that was gone when they realised what he had just said.

"W-What?" Jeff managed to choke out.

Nick just laughed nervously, his cheeks bright red, "Urm, we're not together. He's my best friend."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed..." Tyler spoke up.

"It's fine." Nick said looking down on the table.

"So... you're single then?" Tyler asked bashfully, with a hopeful look in his eye.

Jeff's head shot up as soon as he heard those words leave Tyler's lips. He glared at him from across the table. _Why does he want to know if he's single? Nick's not available._

"Err, yeah. Yeah I am." Nick replied with a confused look on his face.

_Ah, so the cutie is single then_, Tyler smiled to himself. "Cool." He replied, trying to suppress a grin.

For the next ten minutes, Jeff was forced to watch Tyler flirt so blatantly with Nick, and Nick appeared to be actually enjoying it. Anger bubbled up inside him as he noticed the way Tyler's eyes lingered on Nick's lips when he wasn't looking. He then turned his head and couldn't believe what he was seeing. _Nick was blushing?_

_He's actually making him blush? _

Jeff then looked down at their twined hands and saw that Nick's grip had become loose. He felt sick to the stomach. _I can't stay here and watch this...this creep, flirt with the guy I'm in love with. MY best friend. And h-he's not even stopping it_, he thought. He just blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. _I need to get out of here_.

After slowly pulling his hand away, Jeff looked back up at Nick to see whether or not it invoked some kind of emotional response from him. It didn't. Jeff just nodded in understanding. _How can I be so stupid? How could I possibly think that he may like me back?_ He rolled his eyes and slowly got out of his seat; leaving the cafeteria with his food untouched. Once he reached the doors, he stopped to look back and slowly turned his head around to look at his best friend, before scowling at the sight before him. Nick was laughing animatedly at whatever Tyler was saying; still completely oblivious to Jeff's absence. He then turned back around and left, walking as quickly as he could back to his room. Once he arrived at his dorm, he shut the door and collapsed onto the floor. After finally giving up on holding back his tears; he just sat there and began to cry.

**A/N:** _Ahh, I apologise for this being out so late, things have been kinda hectic lately. I'm not a great fan of this chapter, feels very 'meh' but oh well, please let me know what you made of it! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** _Hey y'all, here's the next chapter. I've split it up into two as it was far too long for my liking. Hope you guys like it, the other one shall be up shortly :) _

This particular evening found Jeff lying on his bed, thinking. His mind was teeming with thoughts of Nick, and only Nick. Jeff was extremely frustrated; all of this drama with Nick and all of the confusing feelings associated with it were messing with his head. He spent the last two hours and a half trying to sort out what to do, and thankfully he had the room to himself as Nick had soccer practice. But it wasn't working as his thoughts were constantly interrupted by his mobile phone ringing: Nick was calling - yet again.

Twenty minutes after Jeff had left Nick and Tyler at the lunch hall, his phone was bombarded with texts from him.

**Nick (13.25)**

_Jeffy...where did u go? - 3_

**Nick (13.30) **

_Hey, you okay? - 3_

**Nick (13.32) **

_Dude? - 3_

**Nick (13.35) **

_Please reply back - 3_

**Nick (13. 40)**

_Look I have to go, I've got practice right now, but I'll call you later okay x- 3_

_Oh so now he cares. _

He thought back to the last couple of days, where things were going amazing between the two boys. He felt like their relationship had really gone up a notch; they nearly kissed, they held hands several times, and they flirted so much._ How could have it gone from heaven to hell in less than a week_, he thought, before narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists.

"_Tyler_." He spat venomously, getting up out of his bed and walking around his room.

He thought back to this afternoon in the cafeteria. He remembered seeing Tyler's eyes roam all over Nick's body when he stood up, before finally settling on his neck. The way he eyed his neck, Jeff could practically read the word 'hickey' in his eyes.

"Bloody parasite." He sneered.

"He just had to go ruin everything" Jeff muttered "...and now, Nick's going to pick him cos he's taller and more handsome. Even I would find him hot if I didn't hate him so much." He added quietly.

_Great. Now I'm talking to myself._

He groaned inwardly, running a hand through his hair with frustration. _I can't keep doing this_.

"I just can't." He whispered.

He heard his phone vibrating, indicating he received a text message. Unlocking his phone, he began to read it.

**Nick:**

_Hey, you're not picking up your phone up. Or answering your texts :( I just finished from practice; Tyler asked if I wanna go get coffee after warblers. Do you want to come? x - 3_

Jeff frowned as he read it. _Why on earth would I want to go get coffee with that...that best friend / __ex possible-future-boyfriend stealer?_ Now feeling more annoyed than before, he chucked the phone on the bed and made his way to the bathroom.

Only when Jeff finished using the toilet and was about to leave the bathroom, did he look at his face. He moved closer to the mirror and saw that his cheeks were pink and his eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying earlier. He opened the tap and washed his face with cold water to try and restore his face back to normal so no one would suspect a thing. Once he was satisfied, he dried it with a towel nearby before opening the door to leave.

However, Jeff didn't anticipate what he saw when he opened the door. He saw Nick sitting on his bed, staring at the floor; obviously indicating that he was waiting for him to come out.

When Nick heard the bathroom open, he looked up and was on his feet in a second, latching himself onto Jeff, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"JEFF!" Nick exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

Jeff just stood there stiff with his arms by his side. When Nick didn't get a response, he moved his head back, so that he could look at his best friend properly.

"Hey, what's wro-" He paused, noticing something on Jeff's face.

"Jeff." He whispered, placing his thumb slowly over his cheeks."You've been crying." Nick stated as he carefully studied his face. "What's wrong?" He asked, face full of worry.

Jeff just pulled back from Nick. "Nothing." He mumbled while moving back into the bedroom.

Nick managed to catch his arm before he walked away, pulling him back right in front of him to look him in the eyes.

"Jeff." He pleaded.

Jeff could feel his tears accumulating in his eyes as the intensity of Nick's gaze was getting too much for him to bear. _Those eyes_. Even though he knows that those eyes would probably make him spill his darkest secrets, he stood his ground and blinked back the unshed tears.

"Why do you care?" He said angrily. "I mean, you didn't even notice me leave." Laughing bitterly, he continued, "You were _so_ wrapped up around Tyler that you didn't even notice me let go of your hand. We were holding hands Nick... and you didn't even feel me let go." He whispered. "So please don't act like you care."

"Jeff I-I'm so sorr-"

"Look, I don't want to hear your excuses." He said, interrupting him. "Just forget it." He added.

He sighed and looked up at Nick once more. "We should be getting to the choir room, Warbler practice is starting in ..." He said, before checking his watch. "...seven minutes."

"Urm, yeah...okay." Nick replied, not really paying attention to what Jeff just said. His head was just so confused. _Jeff was upset. Very upset. And I just made it worse, how could I not realise him leaving? Tyler was just so..._ He groaned inwardly.

Nick and Jeff made their way to the Warblers choir room. Nick entered before him taking his usual seat; this time however, Jeff decided to sit on the opposite side of the room. This move didn't go unnoticed by everyone else in the room, in fact they were eyeing the two boys suspiciously, but no one said anything.

Jeff kept his head down during the entire time as he couldn't face Nick. Not yet. He knew the stunt he pulled by switching seats was a really stupid and immature thing to do, but he just couldn't sit next to Nick without wanting to lash out at him. However, Jeff realised just how stupid it was when he saw Tyler take the opportunity to sit next to him.

_Great_. _Now I have to watch this...this leech, sit there and practically undress Nick, my Nick with his eyes_. He thought, whilst eyeing Tyler with disgust.

They practised several songs within the last half hour, trying to come up with some viable options for their set list. After finally settling on one definite song, they thought the rest can be decided on another day.

Jeff looked at the clock and cracked a small smile; Warbler's practice was nearly over. He couldn't wait to get out of there.

"...so before we conclude today's session" Wes started. "Warbler Tyler. You said you had something you wanted to perform for us?"

This caught Jeff's attention. He watched as Tyler nodded and walked up to the front of the room. He then handed Thad a disc to put into the CD player, before speaking up.

"Urm hi guys." Tyler began, giving a small wave. "I never got the chance to perform in front of you guys at the beginning as I was still settling down here at Dalton. But now that I've got the hang of everything, I thought that it was finally time for you guys to hear me sing."

Jeff just frowned, not wanting to hear another word from his mouth, he slowly turned his head. However, Nick caught his eye and they stared at each other for a moment before Nick smiled at him. Jeff couldn't deny that he missed his best friend, especially that adorkable smile of his. He simply gave a sad smile in return before turning his head to catch Tyler giving a nod in Thad's direction, telling him that he's ready.

_I'm not surprised, not everything lasts_

_I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keeping track_

_Talk myself in, I talk myself out_

_I get all worked up then I let myself down_

_Gosh, why did he have to be such a good singer?_ Jeff thought.

_I tried so very hard not to loose it_

_I came up with a million excuses_

_I thought, I thought of every possibility_

_And I know some day that it'll all turn out_

_You'll make me work so we can work to work it out_

_And I promise you kid that I give so much more than I get_

_I just haven't met you yet_

Jeff watched him dance around the room, singing at the top of his lungs. As he was going round, he grabbed random Warblers and started dancing with them. Jeff looked at Nick from the corner of his eye; he could see him enjoying the performance.

_I might have to wait, I'll never give up_

_I guess its half timing and the other half's luck_

_Wherever you are, whenever it's right_

_You'll come outta nowhere and into my life_

_And I know that we can be so amazing_

_And baby your love is gonna change me_

_And now I can see every possibility_

_Somehow I know that it'll all turn out_

_You'll make me work so we can work to work it out_

_And promise you kid I'll give so much more than I get_

_I just haven't met you yet_

_They say all's fair in love and war_

_But I won't need to fight it_

_We'll get it right and we'll be united_

He watched Tyler make his way around the room; everyone else was just enjoying the performance and dancing to the music. Tyler finally made his way to Nick and held his hand out for him to take. Jeff just watched Nick, he saw him laugh and take his hand. He then frowned as he watched Tyler twirl Nick around and practically serenade him. Soon after, Jeff realised that except for the council members, he was the only one still sitting down. He just sighed deeply and folded his arms, waiting for this performance to be over.

_And I know that we can be so amazing_

_And being in your life is gonna change me_

_And now I can see every single possibility_

_And someday I know it'll all turn out_

_And I'll work to work it out_

_Promise you kid I'll give more than I get_

_Oh you know it'll all turn out_

_And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out_

_And promise you kid to give so much more than I get yeah_

_I just haven't met you yet_

_I just haven't met you yet_

_Oh promise you kid to give so much more than I get_

_I said love love love love love love love_

_I just haven't met you yet_

Tyler ended the song by staring into Nick's eyes and grinning, his hand still in Nick's. Everyone started clapping, and Jeff felt obligated to a throw a few applauds in. He, however, smirked to himself when he noticed Tyler's face as Nick pulled away his hand afterwards.

"Thank you Tyler for that performance. That's all for today guys, see you tomorrow." Wes said, finishing practice with the bang of the gavel as usual. After Wes dismissed everyone, Jeff hurried to get out of the room, but obviously it wasn't fast enough as he heard Nick calling his name. He just carried on walking, pretending that he couldn't hear him, however, when he heard Nick's voice getting closer, he decided to stop and just face him.

"...Jeff!" Nick shouted, slightly out of breath.

Jeff turned around to face him and feigned a smile. "Hey."

"We need to talk." Nick said sharply.

Jeff was taken aback for a second. However, he really didn't want to talk about this with Nick right now.

"We are talking." He replied snarkily.

"Jeff." Nick warned, with a raised eyebrow. "Come on. I know something is bothering you, why won't let you me in?" He pleaded. "I miss my best friend."

"Yeah, well so do I." He stated.

Nick looked confused. "What?"

Jeff just put his hands up in defeat and laughed bitterly. "Nick. Ever since Tyler arrived, he's all you talk about. You spend nearly all your time with him."

Nick looked confused. "Jeff, honestly, It isn't like that. He's new and he just needed someone to help him settle in and stuff. Plus we both play soccer, and he's a fun guy to be around but..." He said, looking up at Jeff. "You're my best friend Jeff. That's never gonna change, okay? No amount of 'Tyler's' is ever gonna change that." He added, smiling.

Jeff smiled. He may not have a chance at ever being Nick's boyfriend, but he still had his best friend.

"So... Are you gonna finally tell me what's been bothering you?" Nick asked. He saw Jeff bow his head down. "Come on; let's go back to our room."

Jeff just nodded and followed him back to their dormitory. However, just as they turned the corner, they heard someone calling Nick's name. They both turned around to see who it was. As they turned, they saw Tyler running towards them.

"Nick." He said when he reached the two boys. "So, you ready to get that coffee now?" He asked, smiling like a fool.

_Shit_, Nick thought. _I totally forgot about that._

"Oh, urm I-I..." He stuttered.

"Yeah, he is." Jeff spoke up. Nick turned around to face him, looking apologetically. _I'm sorry_, he mouthed.

"Yeah..." Jeff said slowly in response. He then looked up at Tyler, muttered a feeble "he's all yours" and faked a smile before walking off.

Nick felt immensely guilty as he watched Jeff walk away. He could cancel the coffee with Tyler and go talk to Jeff instead, but he promised Tyler, and he hates breaking his promises.

"...urm, hello? Earth to Nick." Tyler said, waving his hand in front of Nick's face, this pulled him about of his daze.

"Sorry, what?" Nick asked.

Tyler just chuckled. "You okay?"

Nick nodded and mustered up the will to give him a full on grin. This seemed to be enough to convince Tyler as he heard him continue talking about his weekend. Meanwhile, Nick was contemplating on whether or not he did the right thing.

A couple of days had past and things between the two boys had taken a turn for the worse. Nick and Jeff hardly spoke to each other; Jeff was nearly always in the library and only came into their room once he was sure that Nick would be asleep. He allocated himself a new seat during Warbler's, in fact the only time he couldn't manage to avoid Nick was during classes, but even then he focused so intently on what the teacher was saying that it couldn't give Nick the chance to start a conversation with him.

This new plan of Jeff's was actually working. Yes, his feelings for Nick were still very much intact. However, the less he saw Nick, the less heartbroken he was. He could now focus on other things without thinking about him every other second. If he kept this up then eventually his feelings should start to fade, no? Though he really missed Nick and wanted nothing more than to hear his voice again, it was better this way. He needed to get over him; the sooner the better.

Nick was getting more and more frustrated. He had to go see Jeff and sort this thing out once and for all; he needed to talk to him just once more, it couldn't carry on like this. Getting up out of his bed, he left his room in search of his best friend. It was pretty late, and at this time Jeff was usually at the library, so Nick headed off in that direction. Once he reached the entrance to the library, he smiled as he saw Jeff sitting on a desk in the far corner of the library reading a book. Thankfully the library was practically empty at this time, only Jeff and two other boys were in there. When Nick reached the table where Jeff was sitting at, he coughed to try and catch his attention. Obviously it had worked as he saw Jeff glance up from his book, his eyes meeting with Nick's, whose were full of worry. Jeff then looked shocked for a split second before closing his book and placing it on the table, giving his full attention to Nick. Jeff waited for Nick to begin talking, as he could see that there was obviously something on his mind.

Nick took the chair next to Jeff's and sat down.

"Hi" he whispered.

"Hey." Jeff whispered softly.

Nick closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather all his thoughts together, before opening them again, and allowing them to settle on Jeff's face.

"Jeff." He began slowly. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked, hurt and confusion written all over his face.

Jeff should have known this was coming. He didn't know what to tell him. On one hand, the reason why he's so down in the dumps and heartbroken is entirely Nick's fault. However, he has no right to blame him. He couldn't be upset at him for not liking him back, as much as he wanted to. _I thought we could have a shot, but I guess not. _He wants his Nick back but he can't, not yet. He's just not ready. He needs time to accept the fact that Nick will never feel the same way, and that they're never going to be more than friends.

_How am I supposed to tell Nick the truth? Oh hi Nick, I've only been in love with you since...oh, forever. And I'm insanely jealous of Tyler because I'm scared he's gonna steal you away and you'll pick him instead of me. But yeah, other than that, everything's cool. Get real, _he thought. So he just told him what he thought would be best.

Jeff looked up at Nick and shook his head. "Look Nick, it's got nothing to do with you, I'm fine okay. Just a bit stressed with school work."

"Jeff..." Nick began, but Jeff interrupted him.

"Nick!" He shouted. "Just drop it okay!" Jeff sighed deeply before grabbing his book and bag and leaving the library.

Nick was still in shock, he couldn't believe what just happened. Jeff has never lost his cool at Nick before. He was just so confused. _When did things get this bad?_

Nick sat in the same spot for the last twenty minutes. He looked around and realised he was the only one left in the library. He just sat there, thinking. Whilst this new situation might have been ideal for Jeff, for Nick, it was complete and utter torture. Saying that he missed his best friend was by far, the biggest understatement of the century. If only he knew what was bugging Jeff, so he could try and fix things but that idea appeared to be more and more impossible everyday as Jeff was always avoiding him. He hated this. He's never felt so empty inside before and it was killing him. How could one person make him feel like this? But the truth was it wasn't _just_ a person. It was Jeff. _He's everything_. With him, Nick can really be himself without fear of ridicule. Jeff's the only person that Nick trusted enough to tell him things that no one else knew. Opening up to Jeff wasn't something he had to think about, it was just second nature to him.

When he's bored, he's the first person he calls upon. When Nick's hurting or sad, he knows the only person that has even the slightest chance of making him feel better is Jeff. Or when he's just happy and wants to share his good news with someone, he just wants to pick up his phone and tell him, secretly wanting Jeff to be proud of him.

He's everything to Nick. And he can't believe that it took a situation like this to make him realise it.

"Please come back to me." He whispered softly, eyes brimmed to the top with tears. He couldn't help it, but right there and then he broke down.


	5. Chapter 5

"...Nick?" A voice spoke up.

Nick jumped up at the sound, looked up and saw Wes standing over him, looking concerned and worried.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Nick considered lying to him, but it was pretty obvious that he wasn't okay. Plus, making up a lie on the spot like that requires energy, and that's something Nick was lacking at the moment.

"No..." Nick whispered. His voice sounded weak and broken. Wes watched as tears ran down his cheeks. He quickly took a seat beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Its Jeff isn't it?" Wes asked.

Nick looked up at Wes, his face scrunched up with confusion. "How do you know?"

Wes simply rolled his eyes. "Come on, it's obvious something is going on between the two of you. You guys were practically joined at the hip before, now you two hardly ever speak to each other. What happened?"

Nick scoffed. "When I find out, I'll let you know."

Wes looked extremely confused. "Huh?"

"Jeff decided, all of a sudden to start avoiding me, I've been trying to find out why ever since, but he won't tell me."

"Well, keep asking him then?"

"I've tried." Nick exclaimed. "He won't tell me anything." He whispered the last bit.

Wes looked at Nick sympathetically. "Okay, look there must be a reason why he's behaving like this."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock." Nick muttered dryly. Wes raised an eyebrow at him. Nick just sighed deeply and winced at his rudeness, "I'm sorry Wes" he said. "You're only trying to help, I shouldn't have said that."

Wes just smiled at him, "its okay" he said. "Alright, so do you remember when it all started, when did he start acting different?"

"Urm..." Nick said, looking thoughtful. He tried to cast his mind back to when Jeff started acting odd towards him. He smiled to himself when he remembered the day he held his hand during Warbler's. Suddenly, Nick remembered something that Jeff had said to him before. _We held hands and you didn't notice me let go_.

"That must be it." Wes heard Nick whisper.

"What?" He asked.

Nick sighed. "I think it started a couple of days ago. Jeff and I were sitting in the cafeteria with you guys." Wes just nodded. "And we were talking and just messing around and..." Nick trailed off. He was smiling fondly at the memory, he remembered Jeff holding his hand, and he remembered being mesmerised by Jeff at that moment, until Tyler interrupted the two.

"Tyler..." Nick whispered. He looked up at Wes and nodded at him frantically. "I know now! It all began when Tyler came."

"Tyler?" Wes asked. Confusion etched on his face, "What's he got to do with it?"

Now it was Nick's turn to be baffled. "I don't even know." He said quietly. "But all I know is that Jeff was pretty upset because I've been hanging around Tyler a lot."

"Oh..." Wes said.

"Yeah..." Nick whispered.

Suddenly something clicked in his head, his eyes widened like saucers. He turned his head to Wes, "Wes, you don't think Jeff...?" He trailed off.

Wes furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?" He asked.

"H-He might be jealous?" Nick said quietly.

"Urm..." Wes hesitated. He didn't know what to tell Nick. It's been obvious for a while to the entire Warbler's of Jeff's affection towards Nick. They've all longed for the day that Nick would realise his own feelings for him and then they could run off into the sunset together. Nevertheless, he can't, under any circumstances, tell Nick that Jeff loves him; Jeff has to tell Nick himself.

After noticing Wes's silence, Nick just nodded in understanding. "I knew it." He whispered. "Jeff fancies Tyler..." He chuckled bitterly "... and he's angry at _me_ because I've been spending time with him." He said incredulously, shaking his head.

"...W-Wait, what?" Wes spluttered as his eyes widened. "Y-You think Jeff likes Tyler?"

"Well yeah...?" Nick said. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

Wes just laughed. He laughed so hard, that he began clutching his sides and gasping for air. After some time, he managed to calm down.

"Pheww..." Wes started, as his chuckles subsided. "That was a good one Nick, nearly had me going for a second there." He laughed lightly.

Meanwhile, Nick was starting to get annoyed. "What's so funny? He huffed.

"You. Thinking that Jeff fancies Tyler, I mean come on, as if!"

"And what's so ridiculous about that?" Nick asked, looking bewildered.

Wes started laughing again, "Nick, to my knowledge, I don't think Jeff has even said two words to the boy. He's nearly always giving him evils at Warblers practice. So he's either really good at playing hard to get, or he doesn't like him, and I think we both know what the answer is."

Nick realised that Wes did have a point there, _but then if Jeff didn't fancy Tyler, then why did he dislike him so much?_ It made no sense to him.

"Guess I'm back to square one" he mumbled.

"Look," Wes began. "The only way you're going to get some answers is by asking him, don't give up, be persistent."

"Easier said than done Wes, it's like every single word I say goes in one ear and comes out the other." He huffed.

"Well...you know what they say," he started "...where words fail, music speaks." He said smiling up at Nick, before patting him on the shoulder and getting up to leave. Nick pondered upon what Wes had just said, how did he not think of this before?

"Wes, you genius!" He said out loud, but he looked around and realised Wes had already left.

Nick knew exactly what song he was going to sing to Jeff; it summed up his anger, frustration and hurt, and luckily enough he had the backing track for it. He quickly sent out a thank you text to Wes before rushing to his room to get the CD.

**Wes:**

_No problem dude, let me know how it goes! And good luck :D_

Nick smiled as he read the text; Wes really was an amazing guy when he didn't have that stupid gavel on him. If all this works out for Nick, then he's going to get rid of that gavel for him so he can be this awesome all the time. Nick then sent a text to Jeff; he knew calling him would be out of the question, at least with a text he knew his message would be read.

**Nick: **

_Meet me in the choir room in 10, please x - 3_

He knew Jeff wouldn't text back, but he just hoped he would come.

Nick was currently sitting quietly in the choir room waiting for him. He kept glancing at the clock on the wall, ten minutes had already past. _He's not going to come,_ he thought. He then decided to wait five more minutes before he leaves.

Another two minutes had past, and Nick was getting more and more anxious. "Come on, come on..." He muttered, eyes never leaving the door. He took his phone out of his pocket to see whether he text back saying he couldn't come. But no, nothing.

_Who was he kidding, why would he come?_ Annoyed, Nick made his way to the CD player to take out his disc, unaware however to someone entering the room.

"Sorry I'm late..." A voice said quietly.

This new voice caught Nick off-guard, he stopped what he was doing and quickly whipped his head around, seeing Jeff standing a couple of feet away.

"I didn't think you were going to come..." Nick said in disbelief.

Jeff just nodded his head slowly, "well...your text sounded urgent."

"Oh...okay" Nick replied.

Both boys just stood in the choir room, neither knowing what to say to each other.

Nick glanced up at Jeff; he looked very shifty and uncomfortable, as if he wanted to run out of the room. He couldn't let that happen, he's finally got an opportunity to talk to Jeff; he's not going to let that pass. Nick took a deep breath before plucking up the courage to speak up.

"Urm..." He started. "I really need to get this out, and I don't know what else to do or say to get through to you." He said, crestfallen.

"So for the next three minutes, please just listen and don't talk or leave, okay?"

Jeff looked unsure, "Erm..."

"Please" Nick pleaded.

Jeff saw the hurt in his eyes, he felt guilty. "Ok..." He whispered quietly. Nick heard this and smiled.

He went over to the CD player and pressed the play button, before beginning.

_Run_

_Run like you do_

_I'm chasing you_

_I'm on your tail I'm gaining fast_

_You're going nowhere_

_Try to fix what you've done_

_Turn back the sun_

_The night is calling_

_And were falling faster now_

Nick moved towards Jeff, all the hurt and anger now visible in his eyes.

_You're pushing me away_

_Every last word_

_and every single thing you say_

_Pushing me away_

_Try to stop me now but it's already too late_

_Pushing me away_

_If you really don't care then say it to my face_

_Pushing me away_

_You're push push, pushing me away_

_Stop! Tell me the truth_

_Cause I'm so confused_

He now stood less than metre in front of him, glancing down he took Jeff's hand and gave it a small squeeze.

_Spinning round these walls are falling down and I need you_

_More than you know_

_I'm not letting go_

_I'm getting close so take my hand_

_And please just tell me why_

_You're pushing me away_

_Every last word_

_and every single thing you say_

_Pushing me away_

_Try to stop me now but it's already too late_

_Pushing me away_

_If you really don't care then say it to my face_

_Pushing me away_

_You're push push, pushing me away_

_Push push pushing me away_

_You're Push push pushing me away_

_Push push pushing me away_

_Push push pushing me away_

_You're Push push pushing me away_

_Push push pushing me away_

_Push push pushing me away_

_Oh..._

Jeff saw Nick close his eyes and clutch at his heart with his free hand. When he opened them again, they locked onto his; Jeff noticed that they were glossy due to the tears that were now forming.

_Pushing me away_

_Every last word_

_and every single thing you say_

_Pushing me away_

_Try to stop me now_

_But it's already too late_

_Pushing me away_

_If you really don't care then say it to my face_

_Pushing me away_

_Push push pushing me away_

_Pushing me away..._

When he finished, Nick began talking again. "Jeff, please. Why won't you tell me what's wrong, we always used to tell each other everything."

Jeff was confused. He hated the way that this was tearing apart their friendship, but if he told him the truth, the damage would be much worse. If only Nick could just see.

"There's nothing wrong Nick." Jeff lied.

Nick groaned in frustration. But this time he wasn't taking any of it, he was sick of the lies Jeff was feeding him, he could feel his patience wearing thin. "That's total bullshit Jeff and you know that!"

"What do you want from me?" He yelled back.

"The truth!" Nick shouted.

Jeff just shook his head, "I can't..." He whispered.

"Why not?" Nick argued, lifting his hands up in defeat.

"Cos I know how it'll end up Nick!" He shouted. "I know what you will say and that will kill me inside. I just can't take it, not from you."

"Look, whatever it is, you're still you, you're still Jeff. Nothing will change!" He exclaimed.

"Yes it would Nick!" He put his hand up in exasperation. "Do you know how I know? Cos you can't even figure it out for yourself. Which means it's never even crossed your mind and..." He stopped himself.

He just scoffed and looked back up at Nick. "If you can't even work it out, then it's not even worth mentioning."

"Just go back to having fun with Tyler." Jeff muttered, grimacing at the name.

"What the hell does he have to do with it?" Nick asked, now completely perplexed.

"He's got everything to do with it!" Jeff argued back, losing his cool. "Before he came, everything was so perfect and now..." He groaned in anger.

"Look I'm still your best friend!" Nick said, trying to reassure him.

"Exactly!" He laughed sullenly. "You're _just_ my best friend!"

Nick looked up at Jeff, his face scrunched up with confusion. _What did he mean by that comment?_ He thought.

"Look, forget it okay," Jeff started again "just leave me alone." He then turned around and started walking towards the door.

Nick just shook his head; he could deliberate upon that comment another time as he saw Jeff making his way towards the door.

"Jeff, please. Just help me out here. I'm so confused." He whispered.

Jeff then stopped in his tracks; he slowly turned around, locking eyes with Nick, who noticed Jeff's watery eyes.

"Maybe...its best that way." Jeff whispered, before turning back around and leaving the room, leaving a very confused and heartbroken boy, standing alone in the choir room.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** _Hey guys! Thank you again for the story alerts, PM's, favourites and reviews :D they mean THE WORLD! Sorry for this really really really late chapter :/ life can get hectic. _

_Its MY BIRTHDAY TODAY (yay me!), but it didn't turn out to be such an awesome day :/ But then I realised I can always count on Nick&Jeff to cheer me up! And they did, I love these two boys! Anyway, here's the latest chapter dudes, please let me know what you think by reviewing or feel free to PM me :) _

Today is an important day for one Nicholas Duval, its the day that the Dalton Soccer team have been waiting for all year; the Soccer Championship Finals.

It had started off with ten schools in the district, all competing for the Championship Cup. But now, after a gruelling and daunting five weeks, only two schools remain; the Dalton Academy soccer team versus reigning champions from last year; the St Albans soccer team.

This game was it for them, its what they've been training day-in day-out for all these months, and they finally got there; they've finally gotten to the final and they have no intention of losing now. The pressure was particularly high for Nick as he was their strongest player and the team captain so if anyone were to score, it would be him. Plus, everyone was counting on him to give Dalton its a much anticipated win this year.

Kick-off was at 13.00 sharp. The weather was looking promising this afternoon as the sun was beaming down on the football pitch; which was slowly being filled with supporters of both teams.

Jeff hugged his knees against his chest as he sat on his bed. He let out a deep breath, trying to cast his mind back to earlier, however his thoughts were interrupted. For the fifteenth time that day, he heard his phone ringing again. "Ugh!" He groaned. "Why won't he just leave me alone?" Jeff was really fed up, he just needed sometime to himself, so just as he was about to turn off his phone, he saw the name on the caller ID and realised it wasn't Nick.

"Lily?" Jeff answered, completely taken by surprise.

"Take your time little bro." He heard her reply back.

"Ah, sorry about that." He said sheepishly. "I thought it was someone else." Jeff was surprised when he saw his sister's name on the caller I.D; they hadn't spoken for a while since she moved to New York. Nevertheless, he was so glad to hear from her, hoping she could make him feel better after the miserable week he's been having.

"...Oh yeah, who you avoiding?" She asked, feeling inquisitive. "Its not mom telling you to come home more again is it?"

He chuckled lightly. "No, no its not mom. Urm..." He hesitated, "Its no one, forget about it. So how have you been?" He said, trying to desperately change the subject.

" Jeff..." She called out slowly. Meaning his subtle conversation change wasn't that subtle afterall and didn't go unnoticed by Lily.

He sighed deeply as he realised he had been caught, "Fine. Its Nick okay" he huffed, not really wanting to tell his sister what was going on, but he knew it was no point; she would have got it out of him eventually.

"Nick?" Asked Lily, with confusion written all over her face. "Your Nick?" She added.

Jeff rolled his eyes and groaned. "He's not _my_ Nick!" He exclaimed. _She really knows the right things to say (!) _

"Okay okay, calm down." She told him, slightly startled by his small outburst. "Okay let me start again, what happened between you and _'not-your'_ Nick?"

Jeff simply rolled his eyes at his sisters attempt at humour, before sighing. "Things haven't exactly been going that great sis." He said, rubbing his temples with his free hand.

"What do you mean?" She asked, still confused.

Jeff sighed for the umpteenth time that day, hoping he doesn't regret this. He took a deep breath, before slowly beginning.

"I-I love him, Lily."

Coach Hunt was giving them a pep talk just before the match. "Okay fellas, this is it." He said, looking each boy straight in the eye. "Go out there, and do Dalton proud. And most importantly..." He paused, all eyes glued to him waiting for him to finish. " Go KICK SOME ASS!" He shouted, this made all the boys in the locker room laugh and shout aloud too with sheer excitement, adrenaline now pumping through their veins.

As the players ran through the dark tunnel that lead towards the pitch, Nick could hear the faint sounds of fans chanting, he smiled to himself. As they got closer and closer, they could feel the sun beaming brightly on their faces and the loud buzz of the crowd was almost deafening.

Jeff was all flustered and nervous as he's never even uttered those words out loud, let alone tell somebody else. So whilst he tried to compose himself and steady his breathing, he was completely oblivious to the fact that on the other side of the phone, his sister was smiling.

" I know." She whispered.

"Yeah I-" he paused. "..._wait, what_?" It was now his turn to be confused.

She just giggled. "Jeff. Its so damn obvious. Whenever you hear his name, you light up like a christmas tree. Or when you're with him how you can't keep this adorable grin of your face. Its so cute."

Jeff couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face. He shook his head in disbelief asking himself, _am I that obvious?_

" ...probably the same one you have now." She added whilst smirking.

The adorable, lop-sided grin he was wearing fell. _How did she_...?

"Look Jeff." She began. "I'm your older sister, I notice this kinda stuff. So...now that we've got the obvious out of the way, you still didn't answer my question."

_Man, she never let's anything go, does she?_ He thought. _Oh well, here it goes_. "There's this new dude..." He started. "Tyler." She noticed the way he said his name with such distaste.

"...Okay?" She asked, clearly wanting Jeff to elaborate on it as she unsure as to what this new kid has to do with him and Nick.

"Well..." He carried on, his face suddenly becoming so morose and sullen. "Ever since he transferred here, things have been awful, Lily. See, he fancies Nick too."

"Ohh.." She said, finally understanding.

"...and I don't know what to do Lil. I love him, I love him so much! But at the same time I just want to throw my shoe at him!" He groaned in frustration. "Why can't he see what he's doing to me?" Jeff could see his vision becoming blurry as the tears accumulated in his eyes.

She listened intently to her baby brother, feeling complete sympathy for him. "I just want him here with me Lily." He continued. "I miss him so much! I don't think I've ever felt this empty inside. What do I do? I just don't know what to do anymore." He whispered the last bit, wincing as he felt a lump forming in his throat.

"Oh Jeffy..." She whispered, her voice filled with deep concern.

Jeff rubbed furiously at his eyes, desperately trying to clear his vision. He was so mad and angry, mostly at himself for being so emotional about this and always bursting into tears. Lily heard him sniffling from the other side of the phone. _Gosh he had it bad_, she thought.

The players ran out of the locker rooms and onto the pitch of Dalton academy. Nick scanned the crowd for the Warblers as they promised they'd all be there to cheer him on. He grinned and waved up at them all when he saw them, he was so glad that they all came a-

_Wait, where's Jeff?_ He thought.

Nick frowned as he scanned the crowd carefully one more time in search for his blonde best friend, but to his dismay, there was no such luck. "Where is he?" He whispered quietly as his eyes continued to search the sea of people.

"Nick!" Someone hissed.

He turned around as he heard his name being called out; he saw one of his team members, Rick, staring at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Dude! What are you doing," he heard him say, "stand in formation, the match's about to start!" Nick had totally forgotten about that, his mind was so focused on Jeff not being there that he'd forgotten all about the game. He walked forward to his position, every now and again glancing back at the crowd for a familiar set of blonde hair. He just shook his head, he needed to focus on the match at hand. _So what if he's not here, if he doesn't want to come then that's fine by me. See if I care!_ He thought, trying to convince himself, all the while doing his best to ignore that pang in his chest. He saw the referee slowly bring the whistle up to his lips,_ this is it_, thought Nick. "You can do this." Nick told himself, he took a deep, the whistle was then blown.

It had been a while since the match had started and yet neither team had managed to score. The ball was booted into the air by the goalkeeper. Tyler, who was the closest, managed to chest it before allowing it to drop onto the astro-turf. He then dribbled the ball past the opposing players very skillfully, making his way towards the goal. However, he realised as he got closer and closer to the goal, that the opposing defenders were advancing towards him fast, from both sides. He needed to do something, so out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Nick was free up ahead and had a clear shot at the goal. He noticed however, that his mind looked elsewhere. _What is he doing_? Tyler thought. Quickly passing the ball to Nick as he had no other choice, he watched him just about manage to gain control of it. But just as Nick moved forward to score, the assistant referee's flag was raised. He was off-side.

"Hey" Lily whispered. "Jeff, you need to talk to him"

"W-what?" He managed to choke out. "Are you kidding me! I can't tell him Lily, I JUST can't. I can't lose him. Not Nick."

"I know Jeffy, but don't you think you're already losing him by choosing to avoid him." She said, trying to reason with Jeff, making him understand how Nick is probably feeling right now. "He's trying to reach out to you and you're just shutting him out. Imagine if that were you, imagine if Nick all of a sudden, out of nowhere just stopped talking to you and he didn't tell you why."

Jeff realised that she had a point there, what she was saying did make sense. And if the situation was reversed, he'd be really hurt if Nick did that to him.

"And so what if this Tyler kid likes him." She continued. "Are you just gonna stand there and let him steal the boy you're in love with, right in front of your eyes. Does Nick not mean anything to you?"

Jeff's eyes widened at that comment, "What! Of course he does, you know that!" He shouted into the phone. "How could you even ask tha-"

"Then fight for him!" She said exasperatedly, interrupting him. "Don't give up on him. And even if he doesn't return your feelings, don't lose what's right in front of you. He's your best friend, and he needs you just as much as you need him."

Jeff listened to what she was saying. _Why does she always have to be right?_ Just the mere thought of Nick being with Tyler, them holding hands and kissing made Jeff feel physically sick to the stomach. _But through the way I've been acting right now, I wouldn't be surprised if Nick did pick him._ He thought. _I've been such a jerk. Fine_, he told himself, his face more determined than ever. From today onwards, Jeff Sterling is getting his best friend back!

"Okay" he whispered. "Okay, I'm not gonna let that Tyler win. No damn way!"

"Woooo!" He heard his sister shout through the phone. "Now get your ass off the phone to me and go talk to him. And I'm not exactly telling you to go march up to him and tell him you love him. That's up to you, you do that when you feel the time is right. But for now, just speak to him."

Jeff smiled gratefully, he really missed his sister. "Thanks Lily. I really needed that."

She simply giggled, "That's what I'm here for little bro. Anytime."

"Okay. I'm gonna go find him. Hmmm... what time is it?'' Jeff muttered quietly, whilst looking at his watch. "...okay its 2.30 which means he would have-" he paused, having just realised something. His eyes widened and Lily heard a gasp from the other side of the phone.

_Shit._

"Shit shit shitttt!" He shouted, completely forgetting that his sister is still on the line. _Frick! How could I forget_, he thought whilst jumping around the room frantically looking for his shoes.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice laced with worry.

"Yes!" He shouted as he found his shoes, hastily putting them on.

"He has a match! Its the finals" he groaned, trying to explain to his sister. "And I promised I'd be there. Shit! He's gonna hate me."

"No, he wouldn't. Don't worry, he'll understand." She tried to reassure him

Jeff just groaned. "Look sis I've gotta go" he rushed. "Thank you so much for everything, I'll call you later, I promise!" He then hung up the phone and chucked it on his bed, before running out of the room.

Lily sighed as she hung up the phone as well. Wondering whether or not she gave her brother the right advice. _No_, she thought shaking her head, _he needs to tell Nick, he can't give up on him just yet_, she thought. _I've seen the way Nick looks at my brother when he's not looking, and I don't care what anyone says, that's love in his eyes. The fool just hasn't realised it yet._

Meanwhile, Jeff was running through the corridors of Dalton, making his way onto the football pitch. However, when he got there he realised that the entrance was packed with people and there was no way he could get through that. "Shit!" He mumbled, "I can't miss this match!" He said, running a hand through his hair. _This crowd of people will probably clear by the time the players make their way to the locker rooms_, he groaned.

Walking up down, he tried to think of an idea, he couldn't just do nothing. _Hold on a minute_, he thought as he just remembered something. _Locker rooms_? "That's it!" He shouted, before rushing out of there, nearly knocking somebody over. He made his way towards the boys locker room as he realised there was a tunnel there that lead out to the pitch, the one where the players come out from. Granted, he wasn't really allowed to be there, but that was the last thing on his mind right now. Once he got there, his eyes scanned the pitch for his best friend. _There_. He smiled as he saw a familiar set of brown hair that he was well accustomed to.

Jeff looked up at the scoreboard and realised that the second half had just started. _Phew_, he thought. However, glancing at the board once more, he saw that no one had scored, the score remained 0-0.

Nick remembered the look of slight disappointment his coach gave him during half-time. He is the captain afterall, yet his performance today wasn't going as great as he hoped. He sighed to himself, _what am I doing_? As Nick was trying to get his confidence back, something on the edge of the pitch caught his eye. Nick's eyes widened. "Jeff..." He whispered, "You came." He smiled to himself before shaking his head, _no_, he told himself. _This is our game_. _And we will win_! He doesn't know where he got this new-found optimism from, but he was loving it.

Another thirty minutes had past and Nick was on fire. This was definitely not the same Nick we experienced in the first half. He was sloppy, he kept getting tackled and constantly lost the ball to the other team. What's more, is that every single clear shot he had at the goal, he missed. But now, this Nick is more fierce. His game is ten times better than before. All eyes were on Nick as he raced down the pitch, Jeff noticed the fire in Nick's eyes, the complete determination, it's something he had always admired. Then with all his might, he kicked hard, firing the ball straight at the goal and before Nick knew it, the crowd when crazy. The ball managed to dodge the goalkeeper and slip in at the top right-hand corner. He saw a bunch of his team-mates charging towards him in celebration, amidst the flailing hands and jumping, Nick glanced up at Jeff, they locked eyes and watched each other for a while. Nick saw Jeff grinning widely and clapping; he ducked his head and smiled to himself. He didn't know why, but he knew impressing Jeff meant a great deal to him. And it appears he had just done that with this goal.

As the game drew to an end, nobody managed to score again after Nick's terrific goal. The final whistle blew, and the fans went crazy. Below on the pitch wasn't any better either. The boys from Dalton all but ran to Nick, and jumped on him. "YOU DID IT!" and "YOU'RE THE MAN!" Were some of the things he heard being directed towards him. A surge of happiness ran through his whole body. _We did it_, he thought. _We won the cup_!

As the laughter and cheers slowly died down, Nick manoeuvred his way out of the grasps of his team-mates and set off on a sprint towards the tunnel. Jeff felt his heart speed up as he noticed Nick running towards him.

When he reached Jeff, he just stood there grinning like a fool. "I'm glad you made it" Nick smiled fondly, slightly out of breath. "It means a lot that you came."

Jeff ducked his head down, hiding the red creeping on his cheeks. "I'm sorry I was late, I was on the phone to Lily; lost track of time." He said sheepishly

"Oh don't worry about it. By the way how is Lily? Its been ages since I've seen her." Said Nick.

"Yeah, she's good..." Jeff said, trailing off.

The two boys were just standing there, neither knowing what to say. _Come on Jeff, get a hold of yourself, _he thought. However, just as Nick was about to open his mouth, he felt a pair of arms latched onto his neck.

"I'm sorry" he heard Jeff whisper into his ears. Nick didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Jeff's waist. In fact he held onto him tighter as if he was afraid that Jeff would leave him again.

Nick swallowed, "I miss you" he whispered, "so so much." Jeff closed his eyes and batted away the tears as heard the thickness in the brunette's voice.

"You were amazing today." Jeff told him, "Its just such a shame I missed the first half, you probably played just as awesome."

Nick simply scoffed at this, "Believe me, I sucked badly the first half."

Jeff just shook his head, holding him tighter. "Come on, don't be so hard on yourself." He said, "Maybe you were just nervous and stressed."

"Yeah, possibly..." He began, "Or... maybe because my good luck charm wasn't there." He told him.

When Jeff realised what Nick had said, he tilted his back to look at his face properly. He watched Nick close his eyes briefly before opening them again, this time locking onto Jeff's firmly. "Or maybe..." He heard him say, "maybe the only person that I really wanted to be there wasn't." He whispered, eyes never leaving Jeff's. The blonde's eyes widened and his breath hitched, _I must be imagining this_, he thought. Suddenly, he became very aware of the way the two of them were standing, with Nick's arms around his waist and his own around Nick's neck. He could just lean forward and...

_Okay, what am I doing?_ Nick asked himself. _This is Jeff_. _W-Why do I want to kiss him so badly?_ He thought. None of this made any sense to him, but all he knew was right now and in this moment, with Jeff in his arms, he couldn't be any happier.

"Jeff... I..." Nick stuttered. He then swallowed hard before bringing up a hand and resting it on Jeff's cheek. They both looked at each other, trying to figure out what the other one is thinking.

"Hey Nick!" Both Nick and Jeff's heaad whipped around as they heard someone call out Nick's name. "Come on, let's go! Coach's waiting for us."

Nick groaned inwardly, _perfect timing_ (!) He looked back up at Jeff apologetically. "I've got to go." He said sadly, "I'll see you later?" Nick asked hopefully. Jeff simply smiled up at him and nodded. "Later."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** _Literally guys, I cannot thank you enough; all the story alerts and favourites and for those who took the time out to review. You guys rock! xD. So here's chapter 7, sorry its really short but I wanted to get something out, been having some trouble writing. Anywhoooo, I hope its okay and again your opinion really matters, so let me know what you think, and just thanks for reading my story :) BTW, next one should be out in the next couple of days (I hope!)_

The celebrations managed to die down for a bit, so Nick took this opportunity to sneak out. It wasn't that he didn't want to have fun with everybody else, it's just that he needed some time on his own right now; time to think certain things through. And by certain things, he really means one thing.

_Jeff_.

Nick sat on the bench outside the building. _Jeff_, he thought. His mind kept thinking about the fact that every time he sees his best friend, he can't stop smiling, and how he gets this weird feeling in his stomach. What's more, last week when Jeff was avoiding him, he hated it. Like _really_ hated it. If it was anyone else, Trent or Wes or David, he wouldn't have reacted like that. But with Jeff, it was as if suddenly a large chunk of his life was missing and without it he felt...sort of incomplete.

"But its Jeff..." He whispered to himself, "I think I would know if I had feelings for my _best friend_." said Nick. _Then why did you nearly kiss him...Twice?_ His conscience argued. "Oh shut up", Nick retorted, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Talking to yourself eh?"

Nick jumped up, startled slightly by the new-comer. He rolled his eyes and sighed when he realised who it was, "you really need to stop creeping up on people, Wes."

"Well... You need to stop looking so depressed all the time." Nick narrowed his eyes at this, "No, seriously dude, you've just won the championships and instead of going in there" Wes motioned towards the building "...and celebrating with everybody, you're out here talking to yourself."

Nick sighed, "Look...I've just got a lot on my mind right now." He turned his head upwards, looking at the sky and watching the way the clouds were moving, before sighing deeply.

Wes watched his friend and sensed his inner turmoil; he realised that he needed to do something. But if it was something that Nick wanted to share then he would have done so already, so instead, he reassures the troubled boy that he's here for him. "Nick..." Wes said, whilst moving down to sit next to him. The boy in question stopped what he was doing and glanced over in Wes's direction. "You do know that I'm here for you if you want to talk? And not just me," he added, "...but all of us. Don't forget that" Wes said, smiling at him.

This time Nick turned his head around fully, looking at Wes properly before facing downwards and sighing deeply. Nick didn't say anything for a while, so Wes thought that this was his cue to leave. Just as he was about to excuse himself, he heard Nick speak up.

"H-How did you know Jessica was the one for you? Like...how did you know that you loved her?" Nick asked softly.

Wes watched Nick, the way he was twiddling with his fingers and eyes shifted around. If he didn't know any better he'd say Nick was nervous. _W-wait a minute...he's asking me about love?_ Wes's eyes widened and his mouth had formed a little 'o' as something clicked in his mind.

_Oh my..._

_Finally!_ He thought, trying to supress a grin. Wes then realised that he hadn't replied back to him and Nick was waiting for an answer.

"Urm... I j-just knew, I guess?"

Nick looked up at him, with a puzzled face. Wes met his gaze and mentally face-palmed. _Great...how's that supposed to help him?_

"Ah... I-I mean like..." He sighed, before composing himself and attempting to start again. "Jessica" He said, smiling to himself. "...I knew she was the one for me cos... she's the only person who makes me truly happy, y'know. I can't possibly imagine my life without her." He whispered.

Wes looked over in Nick's direction and noticed the way his face was scrunched together in confusion. "Look Nick," Wes began, clearing his throat. "I can sit here and tell you how much Jess means to me and how much I love her...but honestly, there is no point."

Nick looked over at Wes, brows furrowed, silently waiting for him to continue whilst the young Asian boy just shook his head. "Love... is a feeling which you cannot explain in words." Wes said, "You don't need anybody to tell you what love is and what it feels like, cos when it hits you, you'll just know. And when it does, you won't have to ask me or anyone else."

Nick groaned inwardly, "Why is this so difficult?" He asked, putting his head in his hands. Wes shifted closer to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, waiting for Nick to elaborate.

After a minute or so, Nick spoke up. "...I may or may not have feelings for someone." He whispered, looking up at Wes sheepishly.

"So... what makes you think that you might like him?" Wes asked him softly.

Nick inhaled deeply, "It's just, when I look at him I..." he trailed off, trying to hold back the smile that was forcing its way onto his face, as his mind was flooded with images of a familiar blonde.

He just shook his head, pulling himself out of his reverie. "When I look into his eyes Wes, i-it's as if the whole world around me freezes and its just the two of us." Nick dropped his head down in defeat, "...like I'm not naive or anything, all of these feelings and emotions I have, it must mean that I like him. But..." He sighed.

"But..." Wes added softly.

Nick looked up to face him, eyes locking onto Wes's firmly; Wes could see the raw confusion in his eyes. "I mean h-how can I possibly have feelings for someone...and not know about it?" He asked with a confused face. "This makes no sense" he whispered.

Wes gave Nick a sympathetic look, but as much as he wanted to help him, there was nothing he could do. It's pretty obvious to everyone that Nick is head-over-heels in love with Jeff, everyone except for himself however. Wes felt really bad for his friend; he could see just how much this was tearing him apart inside. But this is something Nick needs to figure out on his own, he told himself.

"Nick..." Wes whispered. "I know it might not make any sense to you right now, but it will eventually. And if you really do have feelings for Jeff and you love him, you'll know soon enough. Don't try to over-analyse and complicate things. Just be patient, and let things play out on their own, okay?"

Nick nodded in understanding, "Alright." He replied. Wes simply smiled and patted his shoulder before getting up to leave. "Cool, I'm gonna go back inside, so don't stay out here too long okay?" He told Nick.

"Okay."

Nick watched Wes starting to walk towards the direction of the building; _this guy really is an awesome friend_, he thought. Nick smiled to himself, before suddenly remembering something.

"Hold up!" Nick called out.

Wes halted, Nick's loud voice caught his attention. Confused, he spun around to face him.

"I didn't say it was Jeff!" Nick shouted out to him.

Wes simply smiled to himself once he heard what Nick had said, he then threw the Soccer star a wink, before turning around and continued walking back towards the building.

_Great... _

"How the hell did Wes figure it out, when it had just occured to me?" Nick muttered to himself, before slumping further down the bench and sighing, now more depressed than ever.


	8. Chapter 8

Later that evening, after the match, Jeff decided to go back to his dorm room. Most people had gone back home for the weekend, but the small handful that stayed were most probably at the party thrown by one of the members in Dalton's soccer team. He would have gone too, since the invite was extended to everyone at Dalton, but he wasn't exactly in a celebrating mood today. Instead, he picked up the latest book he was reading, 'The Catcher in the Rye' and attempted to continue reading it from the last page he was on. But to no avail, with every word he read, his mind kept on drifting elsewhere. After realising that it was no use, Jeff sighed in defeat and simply lay down on his bed with the book placed flat out on his chest. The blonde Warbler closed his eyes and reflected back on everything that had happened earlier that day; talking to his sister who he hasn't spoken to in a while, watching the football match,

_...Nick_.

Jeff smiled to himself and sighed in content; he was glad that he was back on speaking terms with Nick; he really did miss his best friend.

"Hmm...I really should listen to Lily more," he muttered quietly.

Jeff's mind drifted back to that afternoon; he remembered feeling so proud of Nick whilst watching him play. The way he literally owned that field, playing with such poise and elegance whilst at the same time, raw determination and passion never leaving his eyes. But despite everything, Jeff just couldn't shake off that look in Nick's eyes when he ran up to him after the game. _That look.._. Jeff thought. _It looked so familiar...almost as if..._

Jeff suddenly shook his head, as if attempting to remove that absurd idea out of his mind. "Nah..." he said aloud, arguing with his conscience. "...Don't be so daft."

He was so absorbed in thoughts of the brunette that he didn't notice somebody entering the room. It was only when he heard the door shut, was he broken out of his daydream. His eyes snapped open and head shot up towards the direction of the door.

"N-Nick..." he breathed out gently.

Nick smiled softly at his roommate, "Hey"

"W-What are you doing here?" Jeff asked, slightly startled that the person he was _just_ daydreaming about was in the same room as him, let alone two feet away.

Nick simply laughed softly, "I j-just wasn't really in the mood for a party to be honest." He told him, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh...how come? Jeff asked him with a curious look. "You do know that the party is practically for _you_."

He looked straight at Jeff for a moment, before looking away, "Just have a lot on my mind." He said, Nick then suddenly noticed the look Jeff was giving him, urging him to continue.

"Could ask you the same question?" He said, quickly trying to change the subject.

Jeff chuckled quietly, picking up on the not-so-subtle conversation change but decided not to say anything about it. "Honestly... I just couldn't be bothered, thought I'd get some reading done instead." He said, motioning to the book on his chest.

"Given up already," said Nick, a playful smirk lingering on his lips.

Jeff grinned amiably at his best friend, "Yeah...something like that." he said, chuckling lightly.

"So... you're not busy right now?" Nick asked.

"Urm... no, not really."

"Cool," Nick said, nodding in understanding, "...take a walk with me?" He then asked the blonde, with his arm extended and a hopeful look in his eyes.

Jeff looked up at Nick with a vaguely puzzled look, trying to understand the motive behind all of this. But then when he noticed Nick raise his eyebrows slightly, he smiled to himself, before getting up out of his bed and taking Nick's outstretched arm.

Nick led the two out onto the grassy grounds of Dalton. Though the air was warm, it was a slightly windy evening, and Jeff regretted not grabbing a jumper with him on his way out as he felt goose-bumps on his bare arms.

"Here..." He told Jeff, holding out his own jacket. Jeff furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at Nick in confusion.

"I can see you're cold," Nick simply stated.

Jeff looked at the jacket Nick was holding for a second, before looking back at Nick and shaking his head. "H-honestly, I'm fine."

"Just put the coat on dummy," he told the blonde with a small smile playing on his lips. "...afterall it's the least I can do after dragging you out here." He then paused in his tracks, and turned to look at Jeff, "Can't have you dying on me now, can I?" he said with a slight smirk.

Jeff broke into a smile at Nick's last comment and shook his head in disbelief before speaking up. "Ah, guilty conscience..." he said, "...and there's me thinking you actually cared about my well-being." Jeff huffed melodramatically.

Nick chuckled lightly before standing behind his best friend and placing the jacket carefully on his back, "As if..." he whispered softly in Jeff's ear, trying his best to contain the grin forcing its way onto Nick's face, before walking off slowly in the same direction.

Jeff watched his best friend walk away, hands in pockets and kicking around random items that were on the ground. "_Idiot_." He said to himself, smiling softly. His eyes slowly, without thinking, giving Nick's body the once-over. _A really, hot idiot though, _he thought. Jeff suddenly felt a blush rising on his cheeks, he shook his head and mentally scolded himself; _get a hold of yourself Jeff_. After clearing his throat, he quickly looked around so that no one caught him blatantly checking out his best friend, before breaking into a sprint to catch up with Nick.

They both walked on the grass before finally settling down onto the floor, Nick then lay down on the grass and glanced up at the stars in the sky. Jeff sat there and watched him before lying down himself.

"It's a really beautiful night." Nick said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Jeff breathed out, "...it sure is". He said, smiling up at the sky before closing his eyes.

Nick slowly turned his head to the side to take a look at his best friend. He watched him as he laid there, the way his blonde hair moved with the wind. He studied him carefully, secretly admiring the way his brown eyes reflected the moonlight. Jeff inhaled deeply, relishing in the crisp, cool breeze of the night; hands toying with the soft blades of grass on the ground. He then suddenly smirked as he felt a pair of eyes on him.

"Perv."

This brought Nick back to reality, "W-What?" He managed to splutter out.

"Never knew I was so interesting" Jeff said so smugly.

"Psht... Oh please, get over yourself dude."

"Oh I have... Now it's your turn _dude_" Jeff said, grinning widely.

Nick laughed, shaking his head; he then grabbed a handful of grass and threw it at the blonde Warbler. Jeff gasped in shock before shaking the grass out of his hair. "Ohh... that's it dude! Now you're getting it!" He said, grabbing some of the grass next to him and chucking it at Nick. Nick being quite athletic and agile dodged it quickly and then tackled his best friend to the ground.

"I think you've forgotten that I'm pretty damn good at sports" he said, pinning Jeff onto the grass by straddling his waist and holding his hands above his head "..._meaning_ I have awesome reflexes." He bragged to the blonde, slightly out of breath.

"Show-off"

Nick gasped mockingly, "Take that back..."

"Oh look at me, I'm Nicholas Duval, I'm so good at sports, I'm so fast, I'm the best footballer ever to roam this planet. Yada yada yada..."

Nick looked at his best-friend with a raised eyebrow. "You know, you're _really_ not helping yourself here, if I were you, I'd shut up." He whispered the last bit.

"Hmm... Make. Me" said Jeff, leaning forward as much as he could into Nick's personal space, challenging him. However, Nick was never one to back down from a challenge so he moved downwards towards Jeff, reducing the space between the two. He could feel the heat radiating from Jeff's body.

"Last chance dude." He said quietly with a raised eyebrow.

"Ooh I'm so scared" Jeff whispered mockingly.

Smirking, Nick kept a firm grip on Jeff's waist with his knees before moving one of his hands, the other still holding Jeff's hands above his head, down to Jeff's sides and tickling him.

"Oh my God, Nick...p-please...s-stop..." Jeff gasped, squirming underneath him, trying to get free, but Nick's hold on him was too strong.

"Say I'm the best." Nick told the blonde, grinning widely.

"I'm the best." Jeff said smugly.

"Oh, looks like we have a smart-ass."

"Ok-k...p-please..." He managed to choke out, as he bit his lip trying to hold back his laughter. "Nick Duval is the greatest person in the whole wide world."

"Oh, you're trying to brown-nose me now?"

"N-Nick!" He cried out, unable to hold it in, Jeff burst into a fit of laughter.

Nick couldn't stop laughing himself, after getting what he wanted he decided to let Jeff go.

"You're a pig" Jeff muttered, narrowing his eyes at Nick playfully as he tried to catch his breath back.

Nick sighed in content, and lay down on the grass with his hands behind his head. "Whatever dude..." He said with a smirk. "...You still said I'm the greatest person in the whole world." Nick chuckled as he heard Jeff growl, he then threw a wink in the blonde's direction just to annoy him even more.

Jeff narrowed his eyes at his best friend, before scoffing. Nick caught the look Jeff was giving him before bursting out in laughter. Jeff watched Nick laughing his head off and clutching his stomach. He himself tried to be strong and hold his own in but Nick's laugh was just too funny, so before he knew it, he was on the floor laughing with him.

After a few minutes, the two boys managed to calm themselves down. They were now both lying on their backs, glancing up at the sky.

"Truth or dare?"

"What...?" Jeff asked, confusion etched onto his face as he shifted; now lying on his side facing Nick.

Nick, however, didnt move out of his position and simply repeated himself again. "Truth or dare." He said again.

Jeff was confused as to why Nick would want to play that game, chuckling lightly to himself at his best friends crazy childish antics, he contemplated about it for a few seconds, before coming to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt to play for a bit.

"Erm... Truth" Jeff finally settled on.

Nick groaned out loud, "Oh come on Jeffy, I already know pretty much everything about you, pick dare!"

"Hmm, let me think about it..." Jeff said, as he put his finger on his lips. "Okay, thought about it," he told Nick, who looked up, eyebrows raised, silently urging him to continue.

"No."

Jeff grinned widely at the sight of Nick's crestfallen-slash-angry face. "Damn you dude... Had such an awesome dare planned for you as-well." Nick told him, Jeff smirked at him smugly and shrugged his shoulders. "D'awww..." he teased.

"Shut up." Nick muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Alright fine..." He said, looking in thought for a second before continuing. "Urm...okay... i-is there anyone you like at the moment?" He asked quietly, toying around with his fingers.

Jeff froze in his spot, _what the hell? Why is he asking me this? _He thought.

"Urrrm... w-what?" he hesitated. His hesitation, however, didn't go unnoticed by Nick who was quite confused by it himself. "Do you like anyone?" he repeated.

Jeff feigned a light chuckle, "_How original_."

Nick smiled, "Shush, I couldn't think of anything else."

"Excuses" Jeff retaliated.

Nick was just about to reply back before it suddenly dawned on him. He looked directly at Jeff, searching his eyes before bowing his head down. He drew a sharp breath in before finally speaking, "You're avoiding the question..." he whispered.

Jeff's eyes suddenly widened, mouth left slightly open. "I-I..." he stuttered.

"Do I know him?" Nick said quietly, interrupting him.

Jeff looked up at him, opened his mouth as he contemplated on lying to him, but then decided against it as he realised Nick would see straight through it. He stared at him for a moment before answering. "Yeah..." he whispered, "...you could say that."

Nick nodded in understanding, feeling this slight pang in his chest. "How come you've never told me this before?" he whispered, hurt clearly evident in his voice.

"I-I... I didn't think it was important."

Nick nodded to himself, "Does he like you back?" he asked.

Jeff, whose eyes were now looking teary, ducked his head, "N-No." He whispered. "...he doesn't."

Nick then suddenly got up from where he was sitting and moved closer to Jeff, "then _why on earth_ do you like him!" he argued. "He doesn't deserve you."

Jeff chuckled bitterly, _if only you knew..._ he thought. He then looked up at Nick and looked straight into his eyes. "I'm _crazy_ about him." He whispered softly, "I don't want to be with anyone else."

"...But what if someone else liked you and wanted to be with you," said Nick, "...would you still pick him?" he whispered the last bit.

"Yeah..." Jeff breathed out. "Yeah, I would."

Nick then looked Jeff straight in the eyes, before exhaling deeply. "Well whoever he is..." he told him, "He is _one_ lucky guy, a-and I really hope he knows that."

"Thank you..." Jeff whispered, a tear managing to escape from his eyes. Nick simply nodded his head and smiled sadly, before lying back down on the grass again. He let out a deep breath, _Why...? _He thought to himself. _I've finally accepted that I might like you...but you now go and tell me that you like someone else. _Nick turned his head to the side so Jeff couldn't see him. He clenched his eyelids down tightly and a tear came down from each one.

_Now, I have no chance...of ever being with you._

**A/N:** _Ok *goes and hides behind a bush* I literally have NO excuse whatsoever for how late this is, I wouldn't be surprised if you have given up on this fic because I would have. I'm really really sorry guys and for those of you who are still reading this, you deserve a bloody statue in your honour xD I'm not going to say when the next chapter will be up cos I honestly have no idea, exams have started for me :/ oh and the next chapter might be the last or second to last :( - but once again, thank you guys so much, and thank you for clicking my story and taking time out to read it. You guys rock! _


	9. Chapter 9

Nick was sitting by himself in the far corner of the school library. From a distance, it would appear that he was completely absorbed in his book, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Yes, he was in deep concentration, but not on the book that was in front of him; his mind was completely elsewhere. In fact, he was so consumed by his own thoughts that he didn't notice Tyler slide into the chair beside him.

"Hey you."

"..."

"...U-Urm hello? Earth to Nick." Tyler said, waving his right hand in front of Nick's face.

"...huh?" Nick jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of a new-comer.

"Are you alright?" Tyler asked, with a worried and concerned look on his face.

"Yeah..." Nick said, sighing deeply. "I'm okay."

Tyler looked him straight in the eye, "Somehow dude, I don't believe that." Nick sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Look I'm fine okay." He told him again, with a firm tone of voice this time.

"Yeah well, _'fine'_ doesn't sit there and stare at an open book like it suddenly started talking to you or something." Nick simply rolled his eyes at his ridiculous comment. "...no, seriously dude, you were just sitting there and staring at it, without even blinking as well. I swear, from the intensity of your gaze, I thought that page was gonna catch fire or something."

Nick ducked his head down in defeat and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I-I've just got a lot on my mind right now..." he said, trailing off, as he remembered everything that had happened recently.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tyler asked.

"...Not really"

Tyler simply nodded, "That's fine, I won't pressurise you or anything." He promised. "But if you do want to talk, I'm here okay." Nick smiled gratefully at his friend, "thank you" said Nick, unscrewing the lid from the bottle of water that was in front of him.

"But..." Tyler continued, "...I _do_ want to help you get your mind off of whatever is bugging you."

Nick scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. "And how do you propose to do that?"

"...Let me take you out tonight."

Nick nearly choked on the water he was drinking, "S-Sorry...?" He spluttered, not sure if he correctly heard what Tyler had just said.

"I want to take you out." He said with complete and utter confidence.

"Tyler..." Said Nick, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm _really_ not in the mood to go out...I'm sorry."

"No, but don't you see? That's the perfect reason for you _to_ go out. It'll help you clear your head."

Nick sighed deeply, "Okay, _if _I were to go, what would you have in mind?" he asked.

"I dunno, we can go catch a movie...then maybe have dinner?"

Nick studied Tyler's face carefully as he realised something. "_Tyler_," he asked quietly. "Are you asking me out on a date?" He said incredulously.

Tyler ducked his head down slightly as his face was now adorned with a slight blush. "M-Maybe..." Tyler whispered, toying around with his fingers, desperately avoiding Nick's face.

"...I can't." He whispered. "I'm really sorry Tyler, but I can't."

This time Tyler finally looked up, meeting Nick's gaze. It was then that Nick saw the sadness in his eyes and he automatically felt guilty.

"Can I ask why?"

Nick closed his eyes for a second before taking a deep breath. "Because...I sort of have feelings for someone else." He admitted.

"Well...is there a chance of you and this person getting together?" he asked the soccer star.

Nick scoffed, "Hah, I wish."

"...well in that case, I'm not going to give up."

"What?" he asked, totally confused.

"I'm going to keep asking you, until you say yes." Tyler told him with a cheeky grin.

Nick just looked at him, completely befuddled, before shaking his head in disbelief. "Look, I've gotta run." He said, while standing up and putting his stuff back in his bag.

"Ok...well, I guess I shall be seeing you soon then." Tyler said, with his signature smile.

Nick chuckled lightly, "You are something else, y'know that." He told him, Tyler just simply winked at him. Nick saw this and rolled his eyes, a smile, however, lingering on his face. He then turned around and made his way back to his dorm room.

* * *

><p>Jeff was on his way to the cafeteria to get himself something to eat. Just as he was passing the school library, he saw two freshman standing outside the door, gossiping. <em>Wow, <em>he thought. _Boys are just as bad as girls. _He rolled his eyes and was about to walk past them, until something one of them had said caught his attention.

"Sorry what did you just say?" Jeff asked the two boys, who were completely intimidated by his presence whilst at the same time, happy that a senior was actually talking to them.

"Sorry?" one of the boys said.

"I heard you say Nick Duval, what about him?" Jeff elaborated.

"Oh, I was just saying how my friend Carl was telling me that a few moments ago, he was in the library looking for a specific book that he knew would be at the back, when he overheard Tyler Richards asking out, none other than Nick Duval."

_What...?_ "And what did Nick say?" Jeff demanded.

"Well, he told me that he couldn't hear what his reply was as his phone begun to ring. But he did say, as he saw Nick leaving the library, he had a smile on his face. So I can safely assume he said yes."

Jeff froze; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. _There's no way in hell that could be true. Could it?_

"...Isn't that awesome! They make a pretty cute couple don't you think?" The boy said, breaking Jeff out of his daydream.

Jeff looked at the boys and scoffed, "Don't you two have better things to do than to just stand there and spread rumours about other people." Before walking away, back in the direction he came from.

_There's no way I'm going to believe a bunch of freshman_, he thought. _I need to hear it from him,_ he told himself, making a beeline straight to his and Nick's dorm.

Once Jeff reached his destination, he barged straight, scaring the life out of Nick who was lying down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He then walked right up to where Nick was lying down and gave him an incredulous look.

"Is it true?" he asked him, going straight to the point.

"Is what true?" Nick replied, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

Jeff scoffed, "Come on Nick; don't play dumb with me... I mean _how dare you_?"

"_Jeff_..." Nick said slowly, "Calm down, what's wrong, what are you talking about?"

He laughed bitterly, "You have _no right_...no bloody right, to come up to me and be mad that I didn't tell you about who I liked, when all this time you've been doing the same."

"What are you talking about?" He shouted, finally beginning to lose his cool.

"I know!" Jeff replied, shouting back.

"Know _what_...?" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"You...and Tyler! That you're going out." he whispered, voice breaking slightly.

"What!" Nick yelled out.

"...I just can't believe you'd keep something like that from me." Jeff told him.

"Look, where did you hear that from!"

Jeff laughed in disbelief. "So you're not denying it then?"

"W-what?...O-of course I am! It's not true."

"So why would someone make something like that up?" he asked Nick.

"I don't know! But we're not going out...I mean, _yeah_ he did ask me out..."

"...I knew it." Jeff whispered, interrupting him.

"...but I said no!" Nick exclaimed. "Hold up, why are you having a go at me for? Even if I said yes, _which I didn't by the way_, it would have nothing to do with you."

"Look, I just don't think he's good enough for you okay." He told Nick.

"Oh really, and who the hell are you to decide that for me! For the first time Jeff, someone is showing an interest in me. Someone might want to be with me. I thought you'd want me to be happy?" he whispered the last bit.

"I do! Nick, I do...Just... not with him."

"_What_? Why not, you don't even know him?"

Annoyed, Jeff simply caved in "You know what Nick, if he _really_ means that much to you, then why don't you just date him?"

"_You know what Jeff_, maybe I will!"

"Fine!"

"Fine." Nick agreed, shrugging his shoulders.

Jeff stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly on the way out. Meanwhile, Nick was furious.

"_How dare he_?" He asked in disbelief. "I mean, he has no right to get upset about it, why would he?" he spoke out loud whilst pacing up and down the room. "...And how the hell did he even find out?"

Jeff was on his way out of the dormitory building when he saw Tyler sitting down on one of the chairs, playing on his phone. _Great. _He thought_, he just has to be there._ Jeff simply scoffed and walked past him. But just as he reached the door, he paused in his tracks and decided to walk back to where Tyler was sitting as he realised he wanted to say something to him.

Tyler glanced upwards, as he suddenly saw a figure from the corner of his eyes standing in front of him."Oh, hi...Jeff." Tyler said awkwardly.

"Congratulations..." said Jeff, in a quiet and sullen voice. Tyler looked at Jeff's eyes and noticed that they were red and glossy. He was confused, why was Jeff congratulating him for? But before he could say anything, Jeff was talking again.

"He's yours." Jeff whispered, before walking off, leaving behind a very confused Tyler. Suddenly the phone in his hand began vibrating. He unlocked it and saw that it was a text from Nick, causing him to smile.

**Nick**: _Be ready at 7_

_P.S – I'm picking the film._

A massive grin made its way onto Tyler's face as he read the text. "_Finally..._" he said to himself, before getting up and running to his dorm room to pick out an outfit for tonight.

**A/N:** _Hey guys :) I know this chapter may feel a bit rushed and isn't that great, or a lot. But I just wanted to get the next chapter out there before I take another 10 years to update. I know, I know, you may be thinking what the hell?- what is Nick doing? But don't worry guys; the next chapter (which is also the final chapter) is where they will finally confront each other! I will be honest guys; it will be another week before I can upload the next chapter so please bear with me. Other than that, I really really appreciate all your comments and it really makes my day, so thank you! You guys are too damn awesome! xD_


	10. Chapter 10

Jeff was walking about the grounds of Dalton, trying to get his head wrapped around everything that's happened recently. He didn't know how to feel, on one hand Nick is his best friend and he should be supportive and happy for him that he's got a date. But on the other hand, he's just so hurt and upset; he doesn't want to be happy for him, he just wants to be _with him_.

_When did everything get so messed up?_

As Jeff walked around aimlessly, he contemplated on going to back to their dorm room to apologise to Nick; he was being selfish after all. But he decided against it as he had every right to be. The boy he's so in love with, is on a date with someone else and it's killing him inside as he can slowly feel Nick slipping away.

"That's it," Jeff whispered, scoffing bitterly. "I can't do this anymore, I just can't." He said out aloud, as he felt a lump beginning to form in his throat. _He has to know_, he thought.

Once he reached the door, he hesitated slightly, nerves bubbling up within him. He stood there, frozen, staring so hard at the door as if it was speaking to him. _Come on Jeff,_ he thought. _You can do this._ He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath; before slowly taking grasp of the handle and turning it.

Jeff slowly stepped inside the room but found no one there, _where was Nick?_ He thought, as he walked further into the room. "Has he left already...?" He whispered, asking no one in particular. Sulking, Jeff walked over to his bed and slumped down.

Suddenly, the sound of the toilet flushing broke him out of his reverie. He looked up as he saw the bathroom door open.

_Nick..._

...

They stared at each other for a while, neither knowing what to say to the other. Nick was frozen to the spot as he didn't expect Jeff to be there, especially after their heated argument earlier. It was then that Jeff noticed the clothes Nick was wearing. He wore a dark brown shirt along with black jeans that were nicely fitted. _He looks really good_, Jeff thought. But what really caught Jeff's attention, besides from the fact that he looked positively stunning, was the shirt Nick was wearing.

_I bought that for him._

_Of all the shirts you could wear..._he thought..._you just had to go and chose that one didn't you?_

A minute of silence had passed, reluctantly; Jeff spoke up as the awkward silence was becoming too unbearable for him.

"You look nice." Jeff said quietly, smiling as he told him.

Nick glanced at himself before smiling gratefully. "Thanks" he whispered.

Jeff simply nodded in response. And before they knew it, the painfully awkward silence had returned.

_What was I thinking, I can't do this_, he thought._ I_ _need to get out of here. Quick._ Jeff suddenly stood up and made his way to the door. Meanwhile, Nick was staring into space, trying to think of something to say to Jeff without getting into another argument. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw Jeff get up abruptly and make his way out of the room. Nick didn't know what to do, he didn't want to scare him off but at the same time he really didn't want him to leave.

"Wait!" Nick called out, gently grabbing Jeff's wrist before he could leave.

The blonde paused in his tracks as he felt Nick's hold on him.

"Please look at me..." Nick begged.

Jeff closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath, before opening his eyes again and turning around. His breath hitched slightly as he didn't realise just how close Nick was.

Nick fixed his gaze onto Jeff's eyes, "Why are you so against this?" He whispered.

Jeff furrowed his eyebrows in confusion; Nick quickly noticed this and decided to elaborate.

"What I meant to say was," Nick said, as he took a deep breath. "...is it Tyler that's bugging you...or is it something else?"

...

"_Jeff_..." Nick whispered, pleading with him.

"I-I just think...you deserve to be with someone better." Jeff said, finally speaking up.

Nick searched Jeff's eyes, as he moved closer to the blonde slightly. "Like who..." He whispered.

Jeff felt the brunette get closer, _this is the best opening I'm ever going to get_, he thought. _I should just tell him...right? _Jeff ducked his head down and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt the fingers around his wrist loosen and gently clasp his hand - squeezing it softly. Jeff's eyes fluttered open, but as they did, the first thing they caught was Nick's shirt again.

Jeff looked back up at Nick again but this time staring straight into his eyes. He stared at him for what seemed like eternity, before finally speaking.

"If I asked you to stay...would you?" He asked Nick in a hushed voice.

The brunette's eyes widened in surprise; he opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it again. When Jeff saw Nick's hesitation, his heart sank. Nodding to himself gently, the blonde spoke up again.

"...Have fun tonight." Jeff whispered, as he pulled his hand away from Nick's grasp and walked out.

* * *

><p>Both Tyler and Nick stood outside the cinema, trying to look for a decent film to watch but they were failing miserably.<p>

"Come on dude, you said you were picking."

"Yeah...but I didn't expect them to be all shit," Nick sighed in annoyance.

"Look, how about we just go and get some food instead, I don't really fancy wasting money and time sitting in a cinema, watching a film we will both end up hating." Tyler stated.

"Yeah you're right," said Nick.

"All right cool, the restaurant is just up ahead, it's this cool little Italian restaurant that my parents took me to when I first came here."

"Really?" Nick asked as they began to walk, "...what's it called?"

"Bella Notte"

Nick chuckled out aloud, "Oh my God, no way!"

"What...?" Tyler asked, totally confused.

"That's Jeff's uncle's restaurant, we go there all the time!" Nick said enthusiastically. "The food is totally awesome!"

"Yeah..." Tyler said quietly, "...it is." He said, suddenely not feeling so great about the restaurant anymore.

Once they were both seated, a waiter came to their table to take their order. The man glanced over in the direction where Tyler was seated. "Good evening gentlemen, I'm Thomas and I'll be your wai-" his eyes then looked over towards where Nick was sitting and he paused. "...Nick?" he suddenly said.

Nick looked up as he heard someone call his name; his eyes widened. "Tommy!" Nick called out, grinning as he got up and hugged the newcomer. Whilst Tyler just sat there and watched their interaction.

"What are you doing here?" The waiter asked.

"Urm..." Nick hesitated as he scratched the back of his neck. "...I'm on date." He said, motioning towards where Tyler was sitting.

This caught the waiter off-guard as he gave Nick a confused look. "You...are?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah..." Nick admitted. "Tommy, this is Tyler, Tyler this is Tommy, Jeff's cousin."

_Am I hearing correctly?_ Tommy asked himself. _Nick's on a date...with a guy...and it's not Jeff?_

"...Tommy, are you okay?"

"Huh? ... Yeah I'm fine. Urm, is it okay if I borrow Nick for a second?" He said to Tyler.

"Urm...yeah sure. I'm going to head to the bathroom anyway."

Thomas stood there watching Tyler until he left, before quickly grabbing Nick's arm and pulling him outside. "...owww dude! What are you doing?"

"Okay, I'm gonna make this quick cos if my dad sees me outside and not working, I'm not gonna get paid, and God knows I need the money."

"Urm...o-okay?" Nick drawled out, completely baffled.

"Ok dude, seriously, what are you playing at?"

"Sorry?"

"You're on a date with another guy!"

"Huh?" Nick furrowed his eyebrows, now even more confused than before. "Yeah...and...?"

"...and it's not with Jeff! What the hell dude, you two are crazily perfect for each other! What's going on?"

"...what _are_ you talking about?"

"I'm talking about _you_ and _Jeff_, and don't try to deny it! You guys come in here nearly every week and I've seen the way he is around you. He's different - happier. And the same with you, the way you look at him when you think noone's watching..."

Nick was taken aback; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. First Wes...and now Thomas..._were my feelings for Jeff obvious to everyone except me?_ Suddenly, Nick felt his knees going weak, so he crouched down and leant against the glass window.

"You're wrong...about Jeff that is." He whispered, looking up at Thomas as he continued, "...he likes someone else, he told me so himself."

"...wh-what?" Thomas hissed in disbelief. "That can't be true."

"Well it is okay! Why do you think I'm on a date with someone else? I'm so desperately trying to forget about it all. It just hurts too much, Tommy." He whispered.

"_Nick_..."

Nick suddenly stood up and looked inside the restaurant; he noticed Tyler back in his seat already. "I've tried Thomas, believe me. But he's in love with some random guy that he won't even tell me about. No one else stands a chance. It's as simple as that. "

Thomas shook his head, "...this doesn't sound right."

"Yeah...well, it's the truth... Anyway, I've got to go, Tyler's waiting for me." He said, as he patted the waiter's shoulder, before going back inside the restaurant.

"What was that about?" Tyler asked, just as Nick sat back down. "Nothing," Nick replied, "...just a misunderstanding." Tyler nodded, not entirely convinced but went along with it nevertheless.

Just as their food arrived, Tyler spoke up. "You look really good by the way." He told Nick, flashing him a cheeky grin. "That shirt really brings out your eyes."

Nick ducked his head slightly, as he felt a blush rising on his cheeks. "That's what Jeff said..." Nick said quietly, trailing off.

"Huh?" Tyler asked, confused as to what Jeff has to do with it, and slightly irritated that his name has managed to come up, yet again.

"Jeff bought me this shirt last christmas." He told Tyler, as he took a bite out of his spaghetti bolognese.

Tyler nodded in understanding, "I see..." He said quielty. "You're favourite shirt, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah...yeah it is. How did you know?" Nick asked.

"...lucky guess." He said, feigning a laugh as he shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

><p>The two boys had been at the restaurant for about an hour now, talking about random things and getting to know each other better. Tyler waited until Nick finished his food before bringing up what was on his mind throughout the entire evening.<p>

"Nick..."

"Yeah," he replied, looking up at Tyler.

"Can I ask you a question, and please be honest with me."

Nick looked at Tyler warily, wondering what he could be talking about. "Urm...yeah sure."

"Do you remember earlier today, when we were in the library?" "Yeah..." Nick said. "...and you said that you liked someone else...were you talking about Jeff?"

Nick's eyes widened slightly, before turning his head to the side. "Does it matter?" He whispered.

"Of course it does! Nick, if it was anyone else it wouldn't bother me but... It's Jeff!"

"What does that mean?" Nick asked

Tyler sighed, "It's so obvious that he has feelings for you."

"Oh my God, not you as well!" He sighed in frustration as he ran his hand through his hair. "I'm getting so sick of this, Jeff likes someone else okay! I think I would know if he liked me; he is my best friend afterall."

"Really? Well then how do you explain him coming up to me today, eyes red and puffy, telling me 'congratulations, you've won'? ...Moments later I get a text from you agreeing to this." He said, motioning towards the space between the two of them.

"W-What?" He whispered, staring at Tyler.

"Look, I really like you and I'd never thought I'd do this but you should go tell him how you feel." He told Nick. "I've seen the way you are with him and the relationship you have with him...I can't fight with that." He whispered.

Nick took Tyler's hand from across the table and squeezed it. "I'm really sorry." He whispered as he felt immensely guilty.

"Don't worry about it," he said smiling. "...I should have known that someone as amazing as you was already taken."

Nick looked into Tyler's eyes and saw the hurt in them. He didn't know what to do.

"...go."

_Huh_? He looked at Tyler and saw him nod and smile.

Smiling gratefully, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a 50 from his wallet, he then put the money on the table, looked back at him and smiled. "Thank you." He whispered before getting up and leaving.

"Where's Nick off to?"

Tyler turned around as he realised that the waiter from before was talking to him.

"Dalton." He simply said.

"Something to do with Jeff?" The waiter asked.

"Naturally..."

The boy then sat down in front of him, "That was really big of you."

"Yep, that's me. Always putting everyone else first."

"Hey, don't worry about it," The waiter said, reassuring him. "...a good looking guy like you, you're day will come soon."

"Thank you," Tyler said quietly.

"Don't mention it dude." The waiter said, smiling up at him.

Suddenly he heard the boy opposite him chuckle slightly. "W-What's so funny?" he said.

"...You think I'm good-looking?" Tyler asked with a slight smirk on his face.

The waiter simply scoffed, "As if! I was just trying to make you feel better."

"Right..." Tyler drawled out, "of course, of course."

Thomas simply shook his head in disbelief, "So...are you going to go home now or..."

"You tryna get rid of me now eh?"

The waiter chuckled, "What! No, I'm just asking."

Tyler simply smiled, "I might just hang here for a bit."

"Well, I'm on my break right now, I c-could join you?" he asked nervously. "I mean, if you want." He added.

"...I'd like that."

* * *

><p>Nick practically ran to his dorm-room. Just as he opened the door, his eyes widened as he didn't anticipate what he saw next.<p>

"J-Jeff...what are you doing?" He asked the blonde who was currently putting his clothes in a small suitcase.

Jeff jumped; he quickly turned around, not expecting Nick to be there. "I'm going back home for a couple of days." He told him as he turned back around and resumed packing his suitcase.

"What! Why?"

"Cos I miss my parents..." he lied.

"That's bullshit Jeff and you know it, you saw them last week!" He exclaimed, "...so what's the real reason?"

"BECAUSE HOME IS THE ONLY PLACE I WANT TO BE RIGHT NOW!" He shouted, losing his cool.

Nick walked up to him, took hold of his hands and pulled Jeff closer to him. "Jeff..." he whispered, "...I am begging you. Please...just be honest with me."

"Don't you get it Nick...I can't!" he exclaimed.

Nick sighed deeply; it was now up to him to make the first move. _It's now or never, _he thought.

"Fine," he whispered. "...don't say anything then. Let me..."

"_What_?"

Nick let go of his hands reluctantly before walking over to the far corner of the room and picking up what Jeff realised to be his guitar.

He chuckled lightly, "Blaine's been teaching me for a while now, but I think I've finally got the hang of it. I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise." He admitted as he put the guitar strap around himself.

Jeff just stood there, completely baffled. He had no idea what was going on and what on earth Nick was talking about.

"J-Just do me one favour Jeff..."

Jeff looked up at him with an even more puzzled face.

"...Listen carefully." Nick whispered, before suddenly he started strumming the chords to a familiar song. _W-What...?_

_I hung up the phone tonight  
>Something happened for the first time, deep inside<br>It was a rush, what a rush_

_'Cause the possibility  
>That you would ever feel the same way about me<br>It's just too much, just too much_

_Why do I keep running from the truth?  
>All I ever think about is you<br>You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
>And I've just got to know...<em>

_Do you ever think when you're all alone  
>All that we can be, where this thing can go?<br>Am I crazy or falling in love?  
>Is it real or just another crush?<em>

_Do you catch a breath when I look at you?  
>Are you holding back like the way I do?<br>'Cause I'm trying and trying to walk away  
>But I know this crush ain't goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy<br>Goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy_

_Has it ever crossed your mind  
>When we're hanging, spending time boy, are we just friends?<br>Is there more, is there more?_

_See it's a chance we've gotta take  
>'Cause I believe that we can make this into something that will last<br>Last forever, forever…_

_Do you ever think when you're all alone  
>All that we can be, where this thing can go?<br>Am I crazy or falling in love?  
>Is it real or just another crush?<em>

_Do you catch a breath when I look at you?  
>Are you holding back like the way I do?<br>'Cause I'm trying and trying to walk away  
>But I know this crush ain't goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy<br>Goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy_

_Why do I keep running from the truth?  
>All I ever think about is you<br>You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
>And I've just got to know…<em>

_Do you ever think when you're all alone  
>All that we can be, where this thing can go?<br>Am I crazy or falling in love?  
>Is it real or just another crush?<em>

_Do you catch a breath when I look at you?_

_Are you holding back like the way I do?  
>'Cause I'm trying and trying to walk away<br>But I know this crush ain't goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy  
>This crush ain't goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy<br>Goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy  
>Goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy<br>Goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy_

Jeff stood there, silent, a million thoughts running through his head. He didn't know how to feel; angry, sad, happy? _This can't be happening_, he thought.

"_Please_ say something..." Nick whispered as he finished, putting the guitar on the floor.

Jeff just stared at Nick, blinking trying to figure out what to say or do or how to feel. It was a lot to take in. _H-He likes me...?_

"Since when...?" Nick suddenly heard the blonde say.

"For a while..." Nick admitted. "...I guess I was just always so used to feeling this way that I didn't really think anything of it." He then walked up to Jeff again and took his hand again. "It wasn't clear to me before...but it is now."

"I can't believe I've been so oblivious this entire time," Nick continued, "...I mean every single time I start to think about you, butterflies start flying in my stomach. And I've seen how miserable I get, whenever you're not there. The signs were always there," he confessed to the blonde. "...like how I can't get this _ridiculous_ smile off my face, every time I see you."

Jeff couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Why didn't you tell me before..." He whispered.

"Because you told me you liked someone else!" he said, hurt clearly evident in his voice.

"_Idiot_."

"W-What...?" Nick whispered, a hurt look on his face.

Jeff looked torn as he ran a hand through his hair; he looked back at Nick and stared into his eyes. And in that moment, all rational thinking went out of the window. _Screw it_, he thought, he pulled Nick by the collar of his shirt and kissed him gently. Suddenly Nick felt a pair of lips on his own, _what the_...he thought_. Jeff...is kissing me_... he didn't want to know why or what was going on, but all he knew was that Jeff was kissing him and it felt amazing. The brunette then leaned in closer, smiling into the kiss. It was a short kiss on the lips that didn't last for more than two seconds but Nick swore he saw fireworks. After a while, they finally broke apart, Jeff still holding onto his shirt. "That was,""Yeah..." Nick breathed. They both looked at each other, breathless and flushed.

"It always been you Nick...you're the guy I'm in love with..." Jeff whispered.

This caught Nick completely off-guard, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, today was seriously full of surprises. Jeff looked up at his best-friend and saw his motionless state. He couldn't quite make out the look in his eyes; it was almost as if he was experiencing an array of emotions.

"Y-You've liked me...this entire time?" Nick whispered in disbelief as a tear managed to fall from his eye.

Jeff simply nodded.

Nick saw this and shook his head, _I'm such an idiot_, he thought. _I need to sit down_. This was all too much to take in for him; he moved to sit down on his bed. "I am _so_ sorry Jeff," he whispered, looking up at the blonde. Jeff could see that his eyes were rimmed with red and his cheeks had tears rolling down them; the sheer emotion of it all was slightly killing him inside.

Jeff couldn't take it; he kneeled down in front of him and took his hands into his own, "_Nick_..." But the soccer star simply shook his head, "all this time..." he whispered, "all this time...and I never knew."

Jeff didn't know what to say, but luckily he didn't have to as Nick started talking again.

"...there I was, stupidly waiting for this big sign to finally tell me I'm in love. And in my mind, I thought it would be when I'm too shy to speak to them, and I'd never dare to look them straight in the eyes or I'll be so insecure about how I look or what I say or do and I'd have to start acting in a different way or dressing differently...But what I never realised was that I was looking for the wrong things." He whispered, "...with you Jeff, I can _be_ myself without being scared of you rejecting me, I don't shy away when I look into you're eyes, in fact, they're so beautiful that I can't help myself not to stare. When I'm with you Jeff, I don't have to be someone else; you take me for who I am. And I know I'm far from perfect, yet you still love me in spite of all my flaws..._How can I be so blind_?" He hissed, feeling tears building up behind his eyes, but just blinked them back.

"...Life is so funny isn't it," he said laughing bitterly. "You spend so long searching for the right person, but you never even contemplate that you may have already found them. And here he was, right in front of me, this whole time. Took me a while to see Jeff... but it's always been you." Nick said, smiling in content.

Nick suddenly got up and offered his hand to his best friend, who took it hesitantly and curled their fingers together; Jeff squeezed Nick's hand with a small smile. "I'm guessing this is our thing - holding hands." Jeff said, "...you know, for most people it's kissing."

"Well then..."Nick said, wrapping one arm around Jeff's waist, bringing him closer, "...I have no problem making that ours too." he smirked as he rested his forehead against Jeff's.

Nick gazed into Jeff's eyes longingly, he finally has the opportunity to tell Jeff how he feels and to be so close to him and hold him in his arms. Meanwhile, Jeff felt his heart skip a beat as Nick was so close to him. "_You're beautiful_," he whispered to the blonde. Jeff ducked his head as he flushed the deepest shade of red. Nick grinned to himself as he nuzzled his nose onto Jeff's cheek, secretly loving the effect he had on the boy, and ultimately the effect Jeff had on him.

"I can't help but think how lucky I am to find someone as _amazing_ as you,"

Nick felt his heart go warm as soon as he heard those words leave Jeff's mouth. "...but I'm so scared Nick." Jeff said, this made Nick look up at him, eyes filled with worry. "I don't want to mess this up." He whispered softly.

"I'm scared too; I really don't wanna screw it up either." Nick admitted. "...we're both new at this...but we'll figure it out. All you have to be is yourself."

Jeff still felt uneasy, "Are you sure about this..." he said, "I mean it looked like Tyler _really_ liked you...I just want you to be happy Nick, you deserve the best." He whispered.

"Hey, look at me." Nick said, lifting Jeff's cheek with his finger, "I am happy, you wanna know why? ...Cos I already have the best." He said, smiling fondly at the boy in front of him.

"_I love you_..." Nick whispered, pressing a kiss on Jeff's forehead. Nick then pulled back slowly and smiled nervously at Jeff. "Can I?" he whispered, Jeff smiled shyly and nodded. Nick then slowly moved in to kiss him as Jeff put his arms around his neck, pulling them even closer. Jeff has dreamt about this day for what seems like eternity and he can honestly say it was completely worth the wait. This kiss was different from before; it was perfect and magical, he wanted it go on for forever.

"I love you too... Nick," Jeff whispered as he pulled away, placing a quick chaste kiss onto Nick's lips before closing his eyes and pulling him into a tight embrace, relishing in the feel of Nick in his arms and his lips on his and ultimately all that is Nick and how he finally is his.

**A/N: **_And there we have it... I just wanna take the time out to thank everyone who followed this story til the end, and those who reviewed, story-alerted and favourited this story. I really didn't think anyone would like this story, but to know that you guys did really makes me happy, I couldn't have done it without you guys so thank you. Once again, you guys really do rock! xD  
><em>


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